In the early morning hours of
May 24, 2013, Santa Cruz Police Department Detectives served a search warrant
on a mobile home in the Beachcomber Mobile Home Park on Mattison Lane in the
unincorporated Live Oak area. The
search warrant was part of an ongoing investigation into an elaborate plot of
Grand Theft from a Santa Cruz business.
Suspect Nicholas Yukich was arrested in the early morning hours of May
24, 2013 in the city of Santa Cruz on charges of conspiracy to commit Grand
Theft. Yukich was arrested before he was
able to carry out his planned heist.
Detectives learned of the plot
from informants and began exploring the information. The investigation revealed that Mr. Yukich
was the mastermind behind the planned heist, and he attempted to recruit others
into his scheme. The plan had been in
the works for months and included surveillance and reconnaissance of the
intended target.
In the course of serving the search warrant, Detectives uncovered a cache of weapons, including assault rifles, shotguns and handguns. In all, 48 firearms, numerous high-capacity magazines and over 50,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the mobile home.
In the course of serving the search warrant, Detectives uncovered a cache of weapons, including assault rifles, shotguns and handguns. In all, 48 firearms, numerous high-capacity magazines and over 50,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the mobile home.
Many of the seized firearms (Photos
Attached) are believed to be in violation of California State laws prohibiting
certain types of firearms classified as “Assault Weapons”. Additionally, some of the ammunition is
believed to be “armor-piercing” and also illegal to possess in California.
Detectives are continuing to
pour over the cache of weapons and ammunition.
Experts from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are being consulted to assist in classifying
the firearms and ammunition.
Yukich is currently being held
in the Santa Cruz County Jail on a charge of conspiracy to commit Grand Theft
with a $500,000 bail. Additional
firearms charges are pending.
