1800s heirlooms stolen from family who lost home in California wildfire; five arrested

Northern California deputies arrested five suspects this week accused of stealing antiques and precious heirlooms from a victim who lost their home in last month’s Mosquito Fire, authorities said.

“Family antiques and generational heirlooms from the 1800s” valued at about $7,500 were stolen after the victims lost their house and barn in the blaze, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a Friday news release.

The theft happened in the town of Michigan Bluff — an area ravaged by California’s largest fire this year to date — after mandatory evacuation orders in the area had been lifted, sheriff’s officials wrote.

Sheriff’s detectives identified two suspects after the property owner informed authorities that they believed family members of former renters at the home were involved in the crime, according to the release. The two suspects were tracked to Sacramento.

Detectives on Thursday served a search warrant at the residence of one of the suspects, during which deputies arrested five total suspects and recovered most of the stolen property, along with guns and various drugs including fentanyl, meth and heroin.

The five suspects were identified as: Amanda Graham, 39; Brandon Garner, 41; Jessica Damigo, 39; James Gonzales, 37; and Christopher Diaz, 42.

All five were booked into the Placer County Main Jail in Auburn on felony charges of grand theft and conspiracy, and misdemeanor drug charges, jail records show.

Graham, Gonzales and Diaz each had outstanding bench warrants and remained in custody as of Friday. Garner and Damigo were released Thursday after posting bail.