Man Suspected in Several Burglaries in Area Says He Didn't Do It

A man suspected of committing thefts in several Coachella Valley cities, Yucaipa and Redlands pleaded not guilty Monday to 10 felony counts.

Arthur Brian Byrd, 41, of Cathedral City, was arrested last Tuesday while allegedly running from a traffic stop of the vehicle he was driving near Dinah Shore and Date Palm drives in Cathedral City. He and his passenger, 21- year-old Kaylah Marie Long of Desert Hot Springs, were taken into custody in connection with burglaries that occurred April 24-27. Byrd also was wanted on two felony burglary warrants, sheriff's Sgt. Aaron Eller said.

Byrd was charged Friday with burglary and receiving stolen property. Long was charged with five felony counts of receiving stolen property. Byrd entered his plea Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, and was ordered back to court on May 14. Riverside Superior Court Judge Ronald Johnson kept his bail at $45,000.

Long is scheduled to be arraigned July 8, according to court records. She was booked into the county jail in Indio and posted a $5,000 bond last Tuesday, according to jail records.

Electronic items such as iPads that were stolen in Yucaipa, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and other cities were found in the car the pair was occupying, Eller said.

A search of a storage unit in the 72-000 block of Varner Road in Thousand Palms turned up property reported stolen in Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Redlands and other cities, Eller said. Byrd and Long allegedly stole computer flash drives, a garment bag, binoculars, a Verizon tablet computer, and a GPS unit, according to the criminal complaint.

– City News Service.