Corona police ask residents to claim property after arrest of serial burglar

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- An evidence room inside the Corona Police department is filled with stolen property, and it was all allegedly burgled by one man over the course of three years.

"This is amazing," said Corona Police Detective Andy Bryant. "In my 25-year career, this is the most stolen property we've recovered."

Guitars. Golf clubs. Cameras. Expensive watches. And several tables covered with bags of jewelry.

"Innumerable bracelets, necklaces, rings," said Bryant.

And that's not all. There are swords, hand guns, ammunition and assault rifles. All of it allegedly stolen by 46-year-old Michael Cohan.

Police said their case came together on Oct. 23 when a Corona resident on the 2300 block of Talbot Court caught the suspect on an indoor surveillance system using a crowbar to break into his home to steal jewelry and sports memorabilia.

That video was posted on social media, and police said tips that came in led them to Cohan.

Cohan was arrested three days later on the 10800 block of Magnolia Avenue in Riverside. Evidence gathered led police to a nearby storage facility with even more stolen property.

"Once that house of cards started tumbling for him, we'd realized that he'd been pretty active for some time," said Bryant.

Police say Cohan was armed with a loaded handgun at the time of his arrest. He is facing a number of charges, including residential burglary, possession of stolen property, possession of a concealed firearm and conspiracy.

His bail is set at $1,000,000. Cohan's girlfriend, identified as 48-year-old Melissa Dillion of Riverside, was also arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property.

The Corona Police Department has uploaded photographs of all the stolen material on their website.

"If you're able to take a look at our Corona police website, all of this evidence is photographed and cataloged," said Bryant. "And there's a way to make an appointment to come in and take a look at it and let us know it's yours."

Police said the arrest was made in large part because of the indoor surveillance video set up by one of the victims.

"I guess he had a run of good luck," said Bryant. "And it ran out."