The Bayfield Marshal’s Office has arrested two suspects in connection with an April burglary at Pine River Pawn in Bayfield.
Investigators are still trying to find a third suspect, whom they believe is a woman from the Farmington area.
The three suspects cut a cable used to secure bicycles in front of the store, taking three high-end bikes sometime between 4 and 5 a.m. April 13, Marshal Joe McIntyre said. Later, they returned and broke in through a side door at the pawn shop.
Two of the suspects forced open a metal gate in front of the gun racks in the back of the store, McIntyre said. When one of the burglars jumped over a glass cabinet with handguns inside, he broke the top panel of glass. One of the suspects ran off, and the other took five handguns before leaving as the alarm went off.
McIntyre said John Mulloy, 34, formerly of Bayfield, and Joshua Gonzales, 29, of Farmington, have each been charged with a class 4 felony burglary and class 6 felony theft.
Mulloy had been at the pawn shop and apparently wanted a bicycle there, but couldn’t afford it. He had just met Gonzales and said he wanted to steal a bike from the store, and Gonzales apparently joined him, wanting to take other goods. The three were carrying a large duffel bag, apparently to take more items, McIntyre said.
The three bicycles and guns are worth more than $4,000, said Jesse Larson, who owns the business with his father, Dennis.
“We’re pretty thankful that’s all he got,” Larson said. The store was burglarized one other time, in 2010, by a local youth, he added. They have significantly improved security at the store since the incident, Larson added.
Mulloy confessed to the burglaries and told police about Gonzales, McIntyre said. The trio took apart the bicycles to get them into a car. So far, the Marshal’s Office has recovered only some of the bicycle parts that were left behind from the Kona, Schwinn and LL Bean bikes. Gonzales was in police custody in Farmington after being arrested for burglarizing businesses there, McIntyre added.
The Marshal’s Office is still searching for a woman with a slight build who is about 5’9” or 5’10”. Investigators think she knew Gonzales in Farmington.
Two other burglaries have taken place in Bayfield since then, McIntyre said. Someone used a hammer to break through a side door at the Subway on June 2 and stole a safe.
“We are working on suspects,” he said.
After Badger Daylighting was burglarized between April 14 and 17, a suspect in Durango was arrested by the Durango Police Department last week, he said. He had been pulled over and police searched his car, finding a credit card from the company.
Investigators are still trying to determine who took the card and some iPads from the business, McIntyre said.
This article has been updated to remove a photograph provided by the Sheriff’s Office because it was not Joshua Gonzales.
