By Abigail Henderson
WOODLAND – Police found and apprehended two suspects who allegedly broke into a residential home garage and stole keys to a Honda Civic, as well as other miscellaneous items from other unlocked vehicles along the street.
The defendant, Anthony Lopez Fernandez, faced a preliminary hearing for his felony charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and the theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle. He also was charged with two misdemeanors, prowling and receiving stolen property. Mr. Fernandez was allegedly found directly in front of two cars in the driveway of a home in Davis, crouched down next to the other suspect.
The first witness to testify was the first officer on the scene, Officer Cortland Jordan of the Davis Police Department. He was on patrol when he allegedly witnessed the subject on a bike heading around a corner.
When he rounded the corner, he saw an abandoned bike in the middle of the road, with no person near it or running in the area. After parking his car and calling for backup, Officer Jordan said he noticed an open gate in a nearby residence’s front yard.
When approaching, he noticed two suspects crouching at the front end of a car, with hoods pulled down over their entire heads. The defendant and the other suspect claimed to be waiting for a ride to pick them up.
The defense asked where the home was located, next to a well-known area in Davis. Officer Jordan stated the house was right next to Slide Hill Park, a park in Davis known for its steep 
concrete slide.
Officer Jordan agreed with the defense when they stated this could be a potential pick up spot in Davis.
Another Davis police officer, Officer Nicholas Peel, testified next. He was dispatched to the scene and had parked a couple of blocks away to survey the crime scene’s surrounding area.
He found two cars with their doors ajar, the front consoles seeming to have been rifled through. The owners of the residence the vehicles were parked at told Officer Peel that nothing in the cars appeared to be stolen, but a blue mountain bike they owned was gone.
The bike the first witness, Officer Jordan, saw one of the subjects on was identified as the missing bike.
The third witness was Officer Story, who testified to arriving at the scene and seeing various car windows open and items missing from inside.
Officer Pheng Lee was the final witness to testify. He was involved with the stolen vehicle report made less than a few miles from where the suspects were found hiding. He was shown surveillance video from the victim of vehicle theft.
In the video, he saw the suspect approach the passenger side of the vehicle and then get in. The car proceeded to drive away.
The keys of two stolen cars, including the keys to the stolen Honda Civic, were found in the grill of the vehicle the two suspects were allegedly crouched in front of, hiding from the officers.
The defense argued there was not enough evidence that the suspect was the same figure that appeared on the video, but Judge Timothy Fall disagreed.
He ruled to hold Mr. Fernandez to answer on all counts, except for the third felony count, which did not have sufficient enough evidence to support the charge.
The arraignment is scheduled for Mar. 26, 2020.
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