Decade Old Case Solved

Arnold, CA — A man faces up to 75 years in prison for a 2002 crime spree in Calaveras County.

A Calaveras County Jury has found Gerald Wise guilty of three residential burglaries in the Arnold area. The jury also found that Wise had committed two prior residential burglaries, making this a “three strikes” case.

Wise was released from California state prison in 2002. He then stole a car and drove to Arnold, hoping to hide from state parole authorities. He later broke into at least three vacation homes and stole items such as guns, ammunition and electronics. Authorities connected the three break-ins because of clues that Wise left behind. He dialed the same “900” numbers from the victims telephones, stole a single pillowcase from each of the homes, and broke into each of the residences in a similar manner.

Wise was positively identified as the burglar through his DNA found on cigarette butts and fingerprints left at the scene of two of the residences.

After his crime spree in Arnold, Wise fled to the State of Virginia where he was arrested for other crimes and sent to prison. Calaveras County authorities have been working on the case for several years, and Wise was recently expedited back to California and brought to trial before Judge John E. Martin.

Calaveras County District Attorney Barbara Yook says, “DDA (Deputy District Attorney) Pfeil, the Sheriff’s Office and retired DA Investigator John Crawford worked diligently on this case, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the verdict. We appreciate the victims’ willingness to participate and especially their patience through this long search for justice.”

Wise, who authorities also say went by the name of Gerald Stolp, will be back in court on December 16 for sentencing.