Two Arrested With Burglary Supplies: Gloves, Lock Picker, Bolt Cutters, Pry Bar, Shaved Keys

By Bay City News Service — A Marin County Sheriff's deputy arrested two people on parole violation charges after they were found with burglary supplies and stolen items in the Nicasio area on Saturday night, a sheriff's lieutenant said.

The deputy was patrolling Lucas Valley Road in unincorporated Nicasio, southwest of Novato, near filmmaker George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch,  after 10 p.m. when he noticed a white Chevrolet truck in the area, Lt. Doug Pittman said.

The deputy saw two people in the vehicle acting suspiciously and monitored the pair as they drove along the street, Pittman said. The truck's driver was avoiding the deputy by stopping along the road, driving slowly and at one point driving on a private driveway, he said. The deputy eventually located the pair in the 7300 block of Lucas Valley Road and approached them in the car, Pittman said. 

The driver, identified as 31-year-old Daniel Allen Coats, denied having any flashlights although the deputy saw them under his legs, he said. Coats is a convicted felon on parole from Turlock with a history of burglary and drug related offenses from Stanislaus County, Pittman said.

The passenger was identified as 30-year-old Heather Victoria Salen who is on parole for burglary and theft related offenses also out of Stanislaus County, he said. Deputies searched the truck and found many tools used for burglaries including gloves, a lock picking kit, bolt cutters, a pry bar, shaved keys and a set of two-way radios, according to Pittman.

Authorities also found ammunition, which is illegal for convicted felons to possess, he said. Deputies recovered tools and purses found with broken glass consistent with those stolen from locked cars, Pittman said. Electronic and computer equipment including cell phones and iPads were also found in the truck, he said.

Coats and Salen were arrested for parole violation, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen property. They were booked into Marin County Jail without bail.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Marin County Sheriff's Investigations Unit at (415) 473-7265 or Bay Area Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 (TIPS).