Property crimes detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a man and two teenage boys for their connection to a recent burglary case.
Anthony Moschella, 27, of Friant was booked into the Fresno County Jail on a felony charge of receiving stolen property. Moschella has posted bond and bailed out of jail. A 16 year old boy from Clovis and a 16 year old boy from Auberry were arrested as well and booked at juvenile hall. Both teens face felony charges of burglary and receiving stolen property.
On February 18th, a sheriff’s deputy responded to a home on the 34000 block of Backbone Road in Auberry to take a report on a burglary. The homeowner discovered several pieces of his musical equipment had been taken from his garage. While taking the report, the deputy advised the victim he may want to notify local pawn shops about his items in case the suspect(s) tried selling them at a store. Later that day, the victim happened to be in the area of Gateway Pawn Shop in Clovis. He went inside and gave the employee a description of his guitar, speakers and amplifiers and asked the worker to keep an eye out for the equipment. Approximately four hours after the employee was given the description, Anthony Moschella visited the store and attempted to sell several pieces of musical equipment that matched the stolen items. The employee called the Clovis Police Department and made a report. An officer responded, arrested Moschella at the store and notified FSO property crimes detectives.
The investigation revealed the two teenage boys had broken into the victim’s garage and stole the musical equipment. They did not want to be caught with the stolen equipment, so a short time after taking it, they gave the items to Moschella to try and sell.
At the time of this crime, Moschella was working as a basketball coach at Sierra High School in Tollhouse. Both teenage suspects were players on his team.
Anyone with additional information on the suspects in this case is asked to please contact the Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867). All tips will remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a cash reward.
