While a Curry County Sheriff Detective was investigating a burglary that occurred in Port Orford in the early morning hours of Thursday May 6th, the Detective contacted the victims, got a list of stolen property that reached a value of approximately $8,000 and then spoke to a witness who had seen two vehicles leaving that residence before daylight.
The two stolen vehicles were later located by the Detective while searching for the suspect vehicles at a residence on Langlois Mountain Road. One of the stolen vehicles that had been stolen a few days before out of Coos County was a 2003 Chevy Tahoe and parts had been removed from the inside of the vehicle.
Through investigative leads and talking to the owner of the property, a person who is known to deal with stolen vehicles in both Coos and Curry Counties was identified as a possible suspect of the stolen vehicles.
On Friday May 7th, while following up on information regarding the burglary, a black vehicle matching the same make, model and year of one of the stolen vehicle was witnessed at the residence the identified suspect frequents. A few minutes later the Deputy saw the same vehicle turn onto Elk River Road and accelerate at a high rate of speed when the driver saw Deputy. The Deputy then radioed ahead that the vehicle was east bound on Elk River Road at a high rate of speed.
The black 2003 Chevy Tahoe being pursued by the Detective reached an estimated speed of about 70 miles per hour before the Deputy observed skid and slide marks going into a driveway where the vehicle was discovered parked behind the house. A Hispanic male with a female attempted to get in the back door of the residence.
The male took off running towards the neighbor’s residence which was a duplex and obscured by brush while verbally told to stop by the Deputy. Deputy King then had K-9 Deputy Nero walk around the vehicle and K-9 Nero alerted to the scent of illegal narcotics. A quick search of the vehicle led us to believe the driver was thirty-four-year-old Kevin Gerolaga who had a felony warrant out of San Joaquin County California for attempted murder.
The suspect was then tracked to the back of the residence next door and Detectives contacted the residents of the first duplex and were granted access to search for Gerolaga, but he was not in that residence. It was then learned from a person who had been inside the second duplex that a Hispanic male broke into the residence and was still inside.
Detectives learned from dispatch that Gerolaga had shot his girlfriend in the face in April and was considered armed and dangerous, and additional assistance was asked for and several Oregon State Troopers and an officer from the Port Orford Police arrived and a perimeter was set on the second duplex.
As a search warrant was being obtained, the residence was completely surrounded by law enforcement, accompanied by loud hails over the PA system demanding that Gerolaga come outside. About fifteen minutes later after several loud hails, Gerolaga came out the front door and he was taken into custody without further incident. Gerolaga was transported to the Curry County Jail and released the next day to two Deputies from San Joaquin County to be transported back to their county.
