Goods ‘Piled to the Rafters’ : Police Arrest Suspect in Over 50 Burglaries

Police have arrested a man who allegedly filled his two-bedroom Buena Park apartment to the ceiling with stolen goods from various Southland cities, then stored the overflow, which included an $8,000 water-ski boat and trailer, in someone else’s warehouse.

Undercover officers who staked out the warehouse Tuesday night arrested Bruce Harvey Coger, 33, on suspicion of burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle and receiving and possession of stolen property, Buena Park Officer Terry Branum said. Coger was being held Wednesday at Orange County Jail on $10,000 bail.

Coger, a convicted felon who has served time in San Quentin for auto theft, was most recently convicted March 31 in Whittier of a misdemeanor charge of attempted auto burglary and auto tampering, Andy Reynolds of the Los Angeles district attorney’s office said. Reynolds said Coger was released on his own recognizance to await sentencing May 20.

Buena Park’s Branum said Coger confessed to undercover officers Tuesday that the goods in the warehouse--a truck and the water-ski boat and trailer--were stolen and told the officer that they could search his 9th Street apartment.

$100,000 in Goods

There, Branum said, police found about $100,000 in stolen goods that filled the small apartment “to the rafters.” Included were video recorders, toolboxes, filing cabinets, briefcases, suitcases and a collection of the candy called Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Police put much of it on display at their headquarters Wednesday.

Over the past four months, Coger is suspected of committing 50 to 60 commercial or auto burglaries from Irvine to Santa Fe Springs, Branum said. He would allegedly steal the items during the week, then sell them on weekends at swap meets all over Southern California, Branum said.

Coger’s arrest came after a caretaker of the Wilshire Bedding Warehouse on Descanso Street told police Monday night that the lock on the fence around the building had been changed and there were goods inside that did not belong to his employer. The stakeout and Coger’s arrest followed.