Three people have been arrested on suspicion of stealing a large amount of marijuana from a house south of Durango.
The suspects allegedly entered a home on the southern end of La Posta Road (County Road 213) and took $16,000 to $18,000 worth of marijuana on May 17, said Lt. Dan Bender, spokesman with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
The robbers identified themselves as Drug Enforcement Administration agents, handcuffed the two occupants of the house, put pillow cases over their heads and released pepper spray, Bender said. The robbers did not appear to be armed with anything other than pepper spray, and the victims were unharmed.
One of the victims, Kim TenEyck, got the pillow case off her head, retrieved her cellphone and locked herself in the bathroom to call police. She called as the robbers were leaving the home, according to an arrest affidavit.
She told police she suspected her nephew Lorne Carl Heintze may have robbed her because he had helped with her legal marijuana grow, the affidavit said
The other victim, Matthew Knight, also suspected Heintze because he was the only other person who knew where the 8 pounds of marijuana was stored.
This helped investigators identify the suspects, who are all La Plata County residents, according to the document.
Heintze, 26, is accused of first-degree burglary and impersonating a police officer, and he is in La Plata County Jail on $50,000 bond. He was arrested May 31.
Melissa Renee Garippo, 27, and Michael Leonard Powell, 49, are accused of first-degree burglary and were released on bond.
Garippo was arrested June 1 and later released on a personal recognizance bond. Powell was arrested June 2 and released on $5,000 bond.
The investigation included talking to Heintze’s mom, Elizabeth James, who provided information that eventually led deputies to Kallisha Henneberger.
Henneberger later gave deputies a recording of Heintze talking about the burglary and the involvement of Garippo and Powell, according to the affidavit.
She also told police that Heintze set up the burglary because a man from Texas was in the area looking to get 10 pounds of marijuana.
Heintze also was motivated by a crush on Garippo, and he was upset with his family for cutting him out of a business, a partial transcript of the recording stated. And, Garippo told Heintze that Powell would be in danger if Heintze didn’t provide him with a large amount of marijuana.
During the burglary, Heintze accidentally hit himself with pepper spray, and he had to leave before the marijuana was retrieved, according to the transcript.
Some marijuana was recovered during the course of the investigation, but it is unclear if was the stolen property, Bender said.
The investigation is ongoing.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
This story was updated to correct that it was the robbers who were leaving the house as one of the victims called for help.
