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Dean Tyrrell, 80, holds up a photo of himself and his wife, Betty, while in his Lodi home Tuesday. Police recovered a small jar containing some Betty's ashes after they arrested three brothers suspected of burglary. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)
Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property
When Dean Tyrrell's home was burglarized last week, he became another of many such victims.
But it was his burglary that cracked what Lodi police believe was a string of connected cases. And then Tyrrell went to a public jewelry showing Tuesday at the police station to see if any other missing items had turned up.
He found his wife's ashes.
The small blue vial had been kept in a bedroom where Tyrrell, 80, keeps an urn containing the rest of his wife's ashes. Betty — or B.J., as many friends knew her — died nine years ago, and thieves also made off with souvenirs she and her husband had picked up on the many trips they took together.
"It's not fun. You walk in the house and all the bedroom drawers are turned topsy-turvy," Tyrrell said Tuesday, recounting the day one week earlier when he left home for less than three hours. "You feel violated."
Tyrrell was thrilled last week after Lodi Police Detective Eric Bradley recognized a suspect he'd overheard talking about selling jewelry. Bradley went to a store the suspect had mentioned, found the jewelry and then matched it to Tyrrell's burglary report.
Detectives arrested three brothers and searched their home, finding more jewelry they believe was stolen. Police displayed it Tuesday to burglary victims and Tyrrell went to see if anything else had turned up.
Only when he saw the small blue vial did Tyrrell realize the ashes had also been stolen.
All told, 49 victims visited the police station between 3 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, said Detective Eric Bradley. Five of them identified stolen property, and at least one of them was a case handled by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, Bradley said.
Galt police are also joining the investigation, and 10 Galt residents also went to Tuesday's property display.
Detectives didn't think most of the found jewelry held much monetary value, but they said that if they can link it to other burglaries, prosecutors might be able to file more charges.
Phillip Maurice Peraza, 20, of Lodi, was arraigned in court Tuesday on one count each of burglary and possession of stolen property. His brothers, ages 16 and 17, are facing charges in juvenile court. Police did not release their names due to privacy laws involving minors.
While Peraza was appearing in court, next door at the police station a line formed before the viewing even got underway. Police documented 22 victims in the first 20 minutes.
Police believe the jewelry was stolen during a rash of home burglaries in the last couple months, and have noted that Peraza and his brothers moved to Lodi around the same time. However, some people who viewed the jewelry were victimized more than a year ago.
"It's been two years since I've been (burglarized) but I figured I'd take a chance," said Mary Grijalva, who came home one day to find her home ransacked and all of her many jewels gone.
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She estimated the loss at $20,000, but only got $2,500 from her homeowner's insurance policy. Value aside, nothing could have replaced her mother's diamond ring, or the bracelet Grijalva received as a retirement gift. She found none of the items Tuesday.
"They took everything, the play jewelry as well as the real stuff," she said. "But I think what bothers me the most is that they were in my house, going through my things. They know where I live and I don't know where they live."
That sense of violation was the recurring theme among victims. One woman found that the culprits had even pulled her knitting off the needles as they ransacked her entire home, including the basement.
Another woman came home from her husband's funeral to find that she had been stripped of 18 watches she had been saving for her great-grandchildren. The woman, who didn't want to give her name, believed she found one of the watches during Tuesday's viewing.
Many victims carried folders full of documents, including police reports and insurance papers, an obvious sign of their struggle to find their property.
A few people shed tears when they saw no sign of their jewelry. Most were trying to just get used to the idea that their items were gone.
For Kelly Ramsey, the hard part wasn't losing three cameras, a video camera, a new computer and an iTouch. The biggest loss, she said, was the jewelry that had been passed down through her family for generations and was worn at each wedding.
As for Tyrrell, who found his wife's ashes, he had nothing but praise for police, and said he had figured all of his valuables were gone.
A Lodi resident since 1972, he is part of his Neighborhood Watch group on Kristmont Street and until last week had never been victimized. He's already making a couple changes.
"This taught me not only to keep watch on my own things but to look out for my neighbors," he said. "I've got a list of all their names and numbers, but you have to do more."
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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liforiley wrote on Nov 18, 2009 9:55 PM:
liforiley wrote on Nov 18, 2009 9:46 PM:
Things are changing in Lodi so everyone must help the Police Department by watching out for each other. Most people carry cell phones and should program the police phone number for fast access.
The word is out in the criminal community that gold and silver jewelery can be sold for big bucks now and the best place to get it is in people's homes.
Everyone should take a little time and photograph their valuables, record serial numbers, and harden the target in their homes. Expensive jewelery should be placed in a floor or closet safe or stashed in a good hiding place.
Once your valuables are stolen you seldom get them back and insurance will not cover your loss. "
pooreastside wrote on Nov 18, 2009 9:57 AM:
What a terrible experience to go though at 80.
Mazie is right, the younger kids will not get much out of this, unfortunately.
Sometimes you do try to bring your kids up with morals, but they may still go their own way and commit crimes. "
Mazie wrote on Nov 18, 2009 8:12 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.