Anaheim police looking to reunite stolen loot with rightful owners

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- After arresting a 33-year-old Whittier man for allegedly possessing thousands of dollars in stolen property, police are hoping to reunite the recovered loot, including jewelry, sports memorabilia and artwork, with its rightful owners.

The investigation in January began after a burglary into an Anaheim Hills home that resulted in a loss valued at $150,000, including autographed sports memorabilia, jewelry, coins and paintings.

Police found some of the items for sale on the Internet and worked with a person who they say bought the items not knowing they were stolen.

On Tuesday, officers served a search warrant at a Whittier home and recovered an additional tens of thousands of dollars of stolen property - including items taken from Anaheim Hills as well as burglaries in Yorba Linda in February and a second in Anaheim Hills in March.

Officers arrested Jonas McClanahan, 33, of Whittier and booked him for possession of stolen property.

Ron Del Mazzio is grateful that many of the items stolen from his Anaheim Hills home have been recovered.

"Such as Mickey Mantle signed lithographs, Ted Williams signed lithographs, Muhammad Ali and so forth," Del Mazzio said. "Several of those were taken and I'm happy to see some of them here tonight. It's a wonderful night."

In the meantime, Anaheim police are looking to match the recovered property with its rightful owners. They believe there could be up to a dozen victims and the items are believed to be valued at more than $100,000, including a Rolex watch worth about $25,000.

Anaheim police say anyone who wants to check if their stolen property is among the items recovered is asked to contact the law enforcement agency that took the original theft report and ask them to contact Anaheim detectives.