MAN ARRESTED AFTER SELLING STOLEN ITEMS TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNER

Sheriff’s officials say a man was arrested after he attempted to sell stolen video games—to their real owner. Richard Heck, 53, was arrested Wednesday night for possession of stolen property, according to Sheriff’s records. On October 7, Darryl Elliott of the 6800 block of Pine Avenue in Twentynine Palms reported a burglary of his home, in which thousands of dollars in video games and game systems were stolen. On Wednesday, Elliott was scrolling through “Let Go,” an online classified ad application, when he saw his games advertised for sale. He called the Sheriff’s Department about 10:30 p.m. to report the sale of his stolen property, and told the deputy he knew the games were his because he saw his handwriting on the game disks. Elliott contacted the seller, later identified as Heck, and the deputy made arrangements to meet him in the parking lot of Tortoise Rock Casino in Twentynine Palms for the sale. Elliott positively identified 94 games and a watch as his property, valued at more than $5600. Richard Heck was arrested for investigation of possession of stolen property, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with his bail set at $10,000. When Heck was booked into the jail, the deputy determined that Heck was a suspect in a hit-and-run with great bodily injury or death that occurred in October, and arrested him for that case, with his bail set for an additional $50,000. The deputy will be forwarding the investigation to the District Attorney’s office for review.