Harbrook Jewelry Thief Captured

On Tuesday, August 14th, just after 10:00am, The Curry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 Transfer call through the Brookings Police from Harbrook Jewelers, reporting that a male subject ran out the door with a 1.25 carat diamond valued at $20.000 and that the manager of the store was chasing him.  It was reported that the suspect ran around the shopping center and jumped in the passenger side of a black truck with a camper shell and a roof rack and left the area.

Sheriff’s Deputies responded and after watching some surveillance footage, they found the suspect drove in and parked near the store in a silver BMW convertible.  A short time later a middle aged white female got into the silver BMW convertible and left the area.  Deputies were able to get a California license plate number and contacted the local police agencies and the Oregon State Police to be on the lookout for those two vehicles involved. Deputies were able to get video of the male suspect from Harbrook Jewelers showing the suspect looking at the diamond and then running out of the store with it.  The video provided a good representation and description of the suspect.The following day, Wednesday August 15th, a Detective with the Brookings Police Department located the silver BMW parked at a camp site in the Clifford Kamph Park a couple miles south of the California/Oregon border.

The Brookings Police were investigating a similar theft from Fred Myers about a week earlier and had located the stolen item at a pawn shop in Crescent City.  Curry County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted by the Brookings Police Department and the Del Norte Sheriff’s Office contacted the female registered owner of the car and then located the male suspect who fit the description they were looking for.  The female was identified as sixty-two year old Brenda Elliott out of Eureka California and the male was identified as fifty-two year old Jonathan Hunley out of Newport Oregon.  Both Elliott and Hunley denied any involvement but gave consent to search their tent and nothing of evidentiary value was found in the tent.  When asked for consent to search the car, consent was denied.  The Del Norte Sheriff’s Office then applied for a search warrant.

While waiting for the search warrant authorization, and not being detained, Hunley left on foot. Once the search warrant authorized, a search of the car revealed a large quantity of Heroin.

On Thursday, August 16th, both Elliot and Hunley were located staying in a motel in Hiouchi California.  Hunley was taken into custody on local charges out of California and booked into the Del Norte County Jail.On Tuesday, August 21st, Hunley was extradited back to Oregon and lodged in the Curry County Jail to face charges of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree x 2.  The Curry County District Attorney has been provided with all the information resulting from the investigation.