Full Notification

DATE/TIME: Thursday, December 21, 2023 / 8:30 a.m.

INCIDENT: Grand Theft, Burglary, Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of an Unserialized Firearm, Felon in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition

LOCATION 1: 17800 block of Valley Boulevard, Unincorporated Bloomington
LOCATION 2:  7000 block of Tippecanoe Avenue, Unincorporated San Bernardino

SUSPECTS: Houston Martinez, a 35-year-old male resident of Unincorporated San Bernardino
Efrain Martinez Mondragon, a 57-year-old male resident of Unincorporated San Bernardino

SUMMARY: On Thursday, December 21, 2023, at about 8:30 a.m., deputies from the Central Station responded to a request to help retrieve stolen property in the 7000 block of Tippecanoe Avenue, in San Bernardino.

The reporting party told Sheriff’s Dispatch he arrived to work and discovered property was stolen from a construction site in the 17800 block of Valley Boulevard in Bloomington. The business owner believed he located his property, and a vehicle involved in the theft, at the address on Tippecanoe Avenue.

Deputy Cobbs responded, detained possible suspects, viewed video surveillance of the initial theft, and notified the Fontana Station who services the area where the crime occurred.

Fontana deputies authored a search warrant for the location on Tippecanoe Avenue. During the service of the search warrant, deputies recovered items stolen during the initial burglary as well as numerous firearms, including an unserialized firearm known as a “ghost gun,” fully automatic rifle, ammunition, an illegal large capacity magazine, money believed to be from the sales of stolen property, a grenade, and a significant amount of stolen clothing and other items indicating the suspects were involved in retail and cargo theft.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Arson / Bomb Detail, responded and determined the grenade was inert. Additional evidence linking suspects Houston Martinez and Efrain Mondragon to the thefts was found and Martinez was determined to be a convicted felon who is prohibited by law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

At the conclusion of the investigation, Mondragon and Martinez were booked into the West Valley Detention Center for numerous felony charges and were later released from custody after posting bail.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Fontana Sheriff’s Station at (909) 356-6767.  Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463), or leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.



Refer: Deputy S. Herrera

Station: Fontana

Phone No. (909) 356-6767

Case No. 032303260

SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department