Police Chief Steve Scibelli said it was pretty embarrassing to have a thief hit his downtown station last week, stealing a radio, two stun guns and a Crown Victoria patrol car. The one saving grace is that police made a quick arrest.
"I'm so upset about it, I can't even find any humor in it," Scibelli told The Register-Guard newspaper. "It's pretty embarrassing."
Robert Lloyd Finder, 26, remained in the Coos County Jail on Wednesday, facing just about every charge the police could think up: burglary, possession of burglary tools, theft, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, tampering with physical evidence and reckless driving.
Scibelli, who oversees a department of 16 officers - including himself - said the burglary occurred when all the officers left a section of the building to respond to an assault call. Finder, according to the chief, later told investigators he was walking near the station and noticed most of the police cars were gone.
"He just said he thought he'd try it," Scibelli said. "See if he could pull this off. High risk, low reward."
Scibelli said the station's outer doors are difficult to lock, so that's probably how the burglar got inside. The suspect found keys to the police car, swiped a couple of Tasers and drove to Lakeside, where he parked the police car on some railroad tracks inside a tunnel, the chief said.
Police caught up with Finder the following day, when he tried to sell the stun guns, Scibelli said. The chief said police have revamped some internal procedures to prevent a similar burglary.
"We were dumbfounded," Scibelli said. "Absolutely amazed that someone would have the nerve to do this."
