The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a mail theft ring and is asking for public assistance to help locate the two female suspects believed responsible.
The Sheriff’s Department also wants to notify residents and hotel owners about these suspects in an attempt to notify potential victims and to prevent others from being victimized as well.
On Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies responded to a hotel in the 500 block of McMurray Road in Buellton to investigate a theft of televisions and other items from two hotel suites.
The investigation revealed that 25-year-old Sireena Dominguez, in the company of 25-year-old Ashley Barnett of Santa Maria, rented two hotel suites and used stolen credit card information to pay for the rooms.
When the women left the hotel, two flat-screen televisions, two media charging stations, two alarm clocks, a microwave oven and two baskets were missing from the suites. Sheriff’s deputies found a large bag of stolen mail left behind in one of the suites.
The mail was from numerous addresses in the areas off of Highway 246 between Cebada Canyon in Lompoc and Mail Road in the Buellton area.
Residents in this vicinity are encouraged to check their credit card transactions frequently to minimize fraudulent activity.
Just the week prior, Dominguez was arrested for stealing a BMW in Buellton. She was located by sheriff’s deputies shortly after and booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail. She posted bail and was released prior to checking into the hotel on Tuesday.
Sheriff’s deputies through the course of their investigation have discovered that Dominguez and Barnett are suspects in similar crimes throughout northern Santa Barbara County and are possibly staying in the area. The women are believed to be driving, or are associated with, a Ford F350 U-Haul that may be embezzled with the “U-Haul” logo faded or removed.
Area hotels and motels are asked to be vigilant, as it is highly probable that the suspects will attempt to rent rooms with stolen credit card information; specifically if the room is rented online.
All residents of the county are encouraged the report any suspicious vehicles parked near mail boxes, specifically in rural areas.
The Sheriff’s Department is working with allied agencies and the U.S. postal inspector on this case.
— Kelly Hoover is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.