Stolen Police Gear Found Inside U-Haul: Livermore Woman Named

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — A Livermore woman has been named in connection with a Mountain View case in which dozens of stolen items were found inside a U-Haul, including police gear from Bay Area agencies, according to the Mountain View Police Department.

Ashley Hund, 28, of Livermore was cited Nov. 1 around 11 p.m. in the parking lot of a Kohl's in the 300 block of Showers Drive in Mountain View. The citation came after a Mountain View police officer was patrolling the area and spotted a U-Haul van parked near the main entrance of the store. The officer decided to keep an eye on things, feeling that something wasn’t right, according to the MVPD.

After circling the parking lot, on-duty officers received reports of "a suspicious circumstance inside the store" — employees saw thieves they recognized and called police.

Hearing the report, the nearby patrol officer drove to the store and others came to the scene. The officer called out to two men, who had been identified as the suspects. One man stopped while the other continued to walk on.

The suspect who stopped was identified as 35-year-old San Francisco resident James Atkins, Jr. As it turned out, Atkins had been driving the U-Haul van, so police searched the vehicle and found several stolen items, including personal identifying information not belonging to Atkins; drug paraphernalia; and, inside some duffle bags, were handcuffs and other police department equipment, according to the MVPD.

The equipment had been stolen from a Bay Area police department; officers also found stolen license plates and paperwork belonging to a state agency, according to the MVPD.

"We are not naming the agencies at this time," the MVPD said in a released statement.

Additional officers arrived on scene and began speaking with a woman seated outside Kohl’s. She was identified as Hund. She knew Atkins and was staying with him at a nearby hotel, according to police. During a search of a bag she was carrying, police found items stolen from Kohl’s, police said.

Officers went to the hotel Atkins and Hund were staying at — Hotel Avante in the 800 block of East El Camino Real — and found drug paraphernalia and what appeared to be methamphetamine, according to the MVPD.

Atkins was booked on suspicion of possession of stolen property and burglary. Hund was cited for petty theft and given a notice to appear in court.

Officers are working to identify and arrest the suspect who walked away from the scene.