PREVIOUSLY: Sheriff’s Office Would Like You to Identify These Ferndale Burglary Suspects

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Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office press release:

On May 2, 2018, at about 11:45 a.m., Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on the 400 block of Camp Weott Road, outside of the Ferndale city limits, for the report of a burglary that had just occurred.

The victim told deputies that she arrived home to find two male subjects, later identified as 27- year-old Brandon Lee Buchholz of Arcata and 30-year-old Ryan Matthew Whittington of Eureka, actively stealing power tools and other objects from her barn. The victim confronted the two men, who then returned the stolen power tools. The victim was able to take photos of the suspects before they fled the property in a white Nissan Xterra. The victim later discovered the suspects had gotten away with more stolen property, including the keys to tractor equipment.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office issued a Be On the Look Out for the two men, releasing the photos taken by the victim and requesting the public’s assistance to identify them. With the public’s help, the Sheriff’s Office was able to successfully identify Buchholz and Whittington.

At about 3:30 p.m. the Fortuna Police Department located the suspects’ vehicle parked outside of a residence on the 3400 block of School St. in Fortuna. One suspect was located inside the vehicle, while the other was located inside the residence following a probation search.

Buchholz was taken into custody and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of grand theft.

Whittington was taken into custody and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of grand theft and violation of probation.

All stolen property was recovered and returned to the victim. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the public for their help identifying Buchholz and Whittington, and the Fortuna Police Department for their help locating and apprehending the suspects.
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.