Ricky Mankini
Louis Jones
VACAVILLE, CA - What are the odds of a Vacaville firefighter on a medical call, almost literally, stumbling onto property stolen from his garage a week before?
"It was really hard to believe," 20-year veteran firefighter Louis Jones said.
Jones was answering a routine medical call at a mobile home park on Sunset Drive when he noticed an unusual yellow plastic block that was among the things taken from his garage.
"I was kind of in shock, " Jones said. "Wow, I used to have something like that, and kind of looked around and saw some of the tools laying there that looked sort of familiar."
Jones and fellow firefighters finished their call and then he called police.
It didn't take long for officers to recover Jones' washing machine and dryer, a lawn mower and a number of his personal effects.
Police arrested 47-year old Ricky Mankini, of Vacaville, and booked him into the Solano County Jail for possession of stolen property.
Unfortunately, Jones still hasn't recovered a quad he loved to ride and a number of other items, but police are still investigating.
Jones said the odds against finding his property while on a fire call seemed almost like trying to win the lottery.
Police estimated the value of his recovered property at $2,300.00.
Jones said he doesn't carry any animosity toward the burglar, especially now that he has much of his property back.
"I'm just happy to get some of my stuff back and do my job," Jones said.
News10/KXTV