Caught in the act of burglarizing storage unit, Burney man arrested

JOHNSON PARK — Eagle-eyed deputies are being credited with arresting a Burney man they say was caught in the act of burglarizing a storage facility, early Saturday morning, Jan. 12. The alleged burglary happened at Ideal Mini Storage in the 21000 block of Highway 299E, in the unincorporated community of Johnson Park, just east of Burney.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko later cited “good observations by our deputies,” who did a “good job” in the early morning burglary investigation and subsequent arrest. Although the storage facility and others in the area have been burglarized several times in recent months, officials have not yet said if Saturday morning’s incident and the previous burglaries were believed to be related.

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Deputies assigned to Burney Mountain Sub-Station were conducting routine patrol of Burney and Johnson Park area businesses around 12:15 a.m. when they spotted a “motorized three-wheeler” parked in front of the storage facility. Deputies knew the storage facility was locked and closed for business at the time and decided to investigate further.

“Deputies scaled the property’s fence and began checking the storage units,” SCSO explained after the incident and arrest. “During the search, deputies located a lock that had been cut laying next to an open storage unit.”

Deputies then heard a subject inside the storage unit and ordered the subject, later identified as Duane White, to exit, at which time White complied and came out of the unit.

Deputies detained White for further investigation and soon discovered his pockets were full of property they believed he had been in the process of stealing when he was interrupted by deputies. Deputies contacted the owner of the unit who reportedly confirmed that the property White was in possession of had been taken from their storage unit.

Based on their investigation, deputies arrested White and he was later booked into Shasta County Jail on suspicion of commercial burglary. A jail record search Sunday morning indicated he had already been released from custody, pending his arraignment.

Anyone with information about this investigation or other burglaries in the Intermountain area is encouraged to contact Burney Mountain Sub-Station at (530) 245-6070. Callers can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.