COSTA MESA : Items Believed Stolen Put on Public Display

Police on Tuesday displayed hundreds of valuable coins, watches, pendants and other items seized during a drug raid in an effort to determine if they were stolen.

Detective Darell Freeman said the items were seized from Douglas H. Reinhardt, 31, an unemployed Costa Mesa resident, after Reinhardt was arrested last week on suspicion of possessing more than three ounces of what police believe was methamphetamine.

At Reinhardt’s house, officers found items that they believe were stolen, such as power tools that had their serial numbers removed, Freeman said. Officers also searched a storage locker rented by Reinhardt that contained hundreds of collectibles, which Freeman estimated to be worth about $100,000.

“I’m concerned that some of the property was stolen,� Freeman said.

But Reinhardt, who is out on bail, protested the department’s seizure. “It is my property,� he said. “I collect everything. I guess it was overwhelming for them that I had so many things.�

Reinhardt said he goes to auctions, barters for items and tries to collect as much as he can.

“A lot of the items there I got when I was a kid, from my grandmother and other people,� he said. Police have “got my prize possessions.�

Reinhardt said he spent an hour Tuesday in the Police Department parking lot, where the merchandise was on display. “I was sitting there watching people go through my personal belongings, saying, ‘This is mine, this is mine,’ � he said.

Reinhardt “claims it’s his property. We feel it is not. We’ll find that out today,� Freeman said shortly before the public was allowed to view the merchandise.

More than 100 people came to look through the items, and five people made claims on various property, Freeman said later.

One person identified a necklace that was engraved with a relative’s name, Freeman said. A pearl ring with several small diamonds also was identified, he said.

Freeman said the department will investigate all claims and will probably return the unclaimed items to Reinhardt within 90 days.

Most of the people who came to the viewing were disappointed at not finding their stolen belongings.

“I was kind of hopeful, because I saw a number of pocket watches,� said Diane Zercher, a telephone operator who lives in Costa Mesa. But she said she couldn’t find anything that was hers.

Dale Rutherford, a Costa Mesa computer buyer, made the claim on the pearl ring but was unable to find any other items he recognized from a burglary in which $3,000 worth of his belongings were stolen. “I’d like to find the Olympic coins that my uncle gave me,� he said.

Former Costa Mesa Mayor Robert M. Wilson said he spotted silver dollars that he believes were taken from him in 1976 and 1977 burglaries. But he looked in vain for his wife’s locket, which contained the only known picture of her two parents together.

Wilson said he found many silver dollars from the same year as the ones lost from his collection. Freeman said he will ask the district attorney’s office to determine whether to give the coins to Wilson.

Each person who viewed the merchandise was required to bring a copy of a police report or a case number to prove they were crime victims.

“I was hoping that we’d get more identified, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles,� Freeman said.