Alleged Valley serial burglar faces 21 felony burglary charges
A man already facing nearly 20 felony burglary counts stemming from a string of Coachella Valley home and commercial burglaries was charged today with an additional burglary for allegedly ransacking an Indian Wells home while the owners were out of the country.
Joseph Foster Ramey, 26, is accused in a series of break-ins in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Thousand Palms between May and July, leading to his arrest in July for alleged break-ins at homes in all three cities, as well as eight storage units at Storquest Self Storage in Palm Springs.
He’s since been charged in several other home burglaries throughout Palm Springs, during which he’s accused of taking jewelry, credit cards, checkbooks and other items, including a handgun recovered by Palm Springs police during the arrest of Ramey’s uncle, who allegedly tossed the gun onto a roof following an unrelated assault case, according to an arrest warrant declaration.
Ramey’s latest charge stems from the alleged break-in at a home on Tahoe Circle in Indian Wells, which was discovered when the homeowners found that someone was attempting to cash checks and make credit card transactions in their name.
Sheriff’s deputies checked on the home on July 11 and found it “ransacked,” with several items missing, including one of the homeowners’ vehicles, according to an arrest warrant declaration. One of the homeowners’ credit cards was recovered about a week later inside a different stolen vehicle, the declaration states.
Ramey, who’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail, is charged with burglary and identity theft in the latest case, adding to a long list of felony counts filed against him for break-ins this year.
Ramey was arrested July 17 in Thousand Palms, the same day he’s alleged to have broken into a nearby home on Shady Palms Circle. He’s next due in court Sept. 18 for a felony settlement conference and could be arraigned that day on seven pending felony counts.
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