Duo arrested in connection with trailhead car burglaries

FALLBROOK – The San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced that 43-year-old Craig Truckenbrodt and his 31-year-old girlfriend, Dayna Navas, both residents of Riverside County, were detained Aug. 16 by deputies in connection to a vehicle burglary that occurred at Live Oak Park in the 2700 block of Reche Road in Fallbrook.

Items stolen from the victim's car were located inside Truckenbrodt's vehicle and Nava's purse. They were arrested and booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of vehicle burglary, identity theft, narcotics possession and possession of stolen property.

Both are being held on $250,000 bail.

Detectives from the Fallbrook Sheriff's Station and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department – Perris Station – have connected Truckenbrodt to a series of vehicle burglaries. Eight of those burglaries were committed in the Fallbrook area at local hiking trailheads. The series of thefts began in early June, with a majority of the vehicle break-ins occurring at the Los Jilgueros Preserve walking trail on South Mission Road.

A male suspect, usually wearing a dark hat and sunglasses, was observed on store video surveillance using the victim's stolen credit cards to purchase items at retail stores. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, along with the Murrieta Police Department, is estimating they have upward of 20 investigations connected to this subject.

People with any information related to the thefts are asked to contact Detective Joel Couch at the Fallbrook Sheriff's Substation at (760) 451-3100, or call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 and remain anonymous.