SCSO executes search warrants, seeks two 'persons of interest' in gold heist case

YREKA – As Siskiyou County nears its one-year anniversary since thieves broke into the courthouse and made off with over $1 million in gold, officials issued search warrants on Tuesday and are currently searching for two persons of interest, said Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey. He declined to disclose the identity of the two suspects.      

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) issued two search warrants in Contra Costa County and two in Shasta County.  

“Unfortunately, we did not locate the two main persons of interest,” said Lopey. “Right now we are attempting to track them down. We have a team working to locate them.”      

Lopey explained that when the two persons of interest are located, their DNA will be collected to determine whether it matches the DNA discovered at the crime scene in the Siskiyou County Courthouse on Feb. 1, 2012.    

While authorities have yet to make an arrest, Lopey said officials collected possible evidentiary items during their searches that will be analyzed.    

The search warrants were the result of what Lopey described as “a flurry of new leads” since the county supervisors approved an increase in the reward offering from $15,000 to $50,000 for information leading to  the arrest and prosecution of the gold thieves.      

These  search warrants were the first to be executed in pursuit of the burglars.

“This is just one stage of this investigation and fortunately the information we are receiving is very encouraging. But we still have a lot of work to do,” said Lopey. “We are working very diligently to solve this crime and we are confident we will achieve positive results in the near future.”      

Anyone with information about the Siskiyou County Courthouse gold heist is urged to call the SCSO at 841-2911.

Background

When Siskiyou County Courthouse employees arrived to work on the morning of Feb. 1, 2012, they discovered that the bulletproof glass case at the facility entrance had been punctured and the multi-million dollar gold display had been raided. The thieves made off with the large gold nuggets and left the small pieces.

 Authorities discovered an open window at the courthouse, which is believed to have been the entry route.

The courthouse surveillance video footage that was made public during the initial stages of the  investigation revealed two masked men attempting to pry open the glass case with a crowbar. Then, they flipped off the lights and finished the job in the dark.      

The gold case was secured with a silent alarm which failed to  activate during the burglary. Alarm company representatives subsequently examined the system and determined the cause of the failure, although for security reasons, county officials declined to disclosed the reason for its malfunction.

The gold collection was the only one of its kind, and was insured by the county. The stolen gold was appraised at $1.25 million, although the county’s insurance carrier is conducting an independent appraisal, said Assistant Siskiyou County Administrator Rose Ann Herrick.      

She said thus far, the county has received a $1,080,000 payment from the insurance carrier, and an additional $80,000 to $90,000 is expected to be allocated to the county in the near future.      

The board of supervisors recently took action to set aside $50,000 for the gold theft reward, $26,000 for an appraisal of the remaining gold and gemstone collection and $1 million for a county museum endowment.