Comics, collectibles worth millions recovered in North County probe
Dante Ulanday - News Moderator 
Two suspects were behind bars Wednesday, linked to 13 North County storage-unit burglaries in which comic books and other collectibles worth millions of dollars were stolen.
Investigators discovered the spree, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, after the launch of a fraud probe in June by detectives from the Vista Sheriff’s Station.
They began looking into allegations that individuals had used stolen personal identifying information to lease storage units.
Between Oct. 28 and Nov. 13, detectives served three search warrants, including one at a home in the 300 block of West Los Angeles Drive in Vista, seizing the stolen comic books, trading cards and other collectibles. Two of the comics, old Spider-Man editions, bore tags with estimated prices of $11,000 and $4,000.
Detectives also found 19 guns and nearly $100,000 in cash.
Kyle John Henely, 43, and Veronica Merlo, 40, allegedly stole the goods during six break-ins in Escondido, five in Valley Center and two in Oceanside.
Henely and Merlo have been booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of burglary, fraud, grand theft and conspiracy, according to jail records. Authorities initially charged them with the Oceanside break-ins, then added the counts in the Escondido and Valley Center cases.
City News Service contributed to this report.
