Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Oregon Man Arrested for Night-time Burglary and Forced Entry of Four Ukiah Businesses

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The following is a press released issued by the Ukiah Police Departmenet. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Donald Emil Morin [Mugshot from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Booking Logs]

On March 16, 2021 at approximately 7:08 AM, UPD Dispatch received a call from a business owner, at Barr Family Chiropractic (1252 Airport Park Blvd), reporting the  business appeared to have been burglarized. UPD Officers responded and determined the  business had been burglarized, vandalized and a money was stolen. The investigation  showed an exterior door had been forced open at some point during the early morning  hours. The victim estimated $2,000.00 was missing and the contents of the business were  scattered throughout the building’s interior.  

Officers began checking other neighboring businesses and discovered exterior doors  leading to two other suites had also been forced open. One of the businesses was Body  Glow Tanning Boutique. This business had surveillance equipment that was functional.  The interior of this business was also scattered about and it appeared someone had  ransacked the merchandise. Officers reviewed the surveillance footage and saw a male,  who was later identified as Donald Emil Morin, entered the business at approximately  2:14 AM. Morin utilized a crow bar to force open desks and cabinets and subsequently  exited the business with stolen merchandise. Some of the stolen merchandise was  clothing, which included a very specific style of sweatshirt and ball cap. The estimated  damage and the stolen merchandise totaled approximately $1,000.00.  

The third business that had an exterior door forced open was found to be a vacant  building. UPD Detectives responded to assist with the investigation.  

Following completion of processing the three crime scenes; Officers resumed patrol  duties and an Officer observed a male, who was wearing a sweatshirt and ball cap that  matched the stolen merchandise, walking in the 1000 block of S. State Street. The  Officer contacted Morin and saw his appearance matched the images obtained from the  surveillance footage from Body Glow Tanning Boutique. Morin was subsequently  detained without incident.  

During the investigation it was learned Morin rented a room at Motel 6 (1208 S. State St.)  and Detectives obtained a search warrant for his room. During the service of the search  warrant, stolen merchandise from Body Glow Tanning Boutique and Barr Family  Chiropractic were located inside the room. Additionally, merchandise from Haute Mess  was also located inside the room. UPD had taken a burglary report, the prior day, from  Haute Mess during which an unknown person had forced entry into the business and  stolen merchandise.  

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Based on the investigations, Morin was linked to the burglary of the four businesses and  was placed under arrest for the burglaries. Due to the declared state of emergency, in  California and the fact that the burglaries were committed during the state of emergency,  Morin was also arrested for 463(A) PC – Burglary / looting during a state of emergency.  Morin was booked at the MCSO Jail with a bail of $45,000.00. Morin was found to be  on probation out of Oregon for a Burglary conviction. 

These cases serve as a reminder of the value of surveillance systems, as well as alarm  systems. These systems often prove to be invaluable to law enforcement agencies in  solving crimes.  

As always, our mission at UPD is simple: to make Ukiah as safe a place as possible. If  you would like to know more about crime in your neighborhood, you can sign up for 

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Matt LaFever
Matt LaFeverhttps://mendofever.com/
For the past seven years, Matt LaFever has covered the North Coast of California in both print and radio news. A Humboldt State graduate, he has lived in the Emerald Triangle for nearly 20 years. His reporting spans local issues like crime and wildfires. When not writing, Matt is an avid outdoorsman, exploring Northern California’s rugged landscapes. Reach out to him at matthewplafever@gmail.com.

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