Take Control of Securing and Locating Portable Assets

10:00 PM PST on Wednesday

When a kitchen stove disappeared from a vacant Lake Elsinore tract house, a developer's tracking device didn't let the appliance get far.

The global-positioning system monitor on the appliance, embedded by developer KB Home, is the latest tool to help police foil home burglaries.

Lake Elsinore police were called at 11:15 a.m. Monday to a home under construction in the 19000 block of Parkwood Drive, where a gas range stove was missing, Lake Elsinore police Sgt. Jeff Wright said.

KB Home officials had outfitted the stove with a monitoring device that could send out a signal if it was stolen, and allowed police to monitor its whereabouts, Wright said.
Police and developer officials tracked the stove to a home in the 1200 block of John Road in Perris, where police found the stove along with other appliances valued at $15,000, as well as a vehicle reported stolen from Whittier, Wright said.

Police arrested the Perris home's owner, Ruben Molina, 50, on suspicion of burglary and theft with prior convictions, Wright said.

They also arrested 18-year- old Maria Molina on an outstanding no-bail warrant for unspecified crimes.

Appliance thefts at vacant homes have been reported throughout Riverside County, including in Eastvale last year.

Wright said one other case had been reported in Lake Elsinore.

"These builders are trying to assist in finding their property," Wright said. "I think it's a great idea, but I don't think this is any different than burglaries from any inhabited homes."