Arrest leads police to cache of stolen property

The arrest of a suspected shoe thief and a suspected meth dealer helped Mesa police uncover a hoard of stolen possessions, authorities said.

According to Mesa police, more than $15,000 worth of stolen tools, as well as numerous passports, social security cards, check books, and credit cards were seized at a home near Warner and Lindsey roads in Gilbert Tuesday afternoon. The property seizure came after police arrested a man suspected of robbing a shoe store on Monday.

Mesa resident Cody Kay Petersen, 37, was arrested on suspicion of robbing two pairs of black Airwalk shoes, black socks, and an undisclosed amount of cash from a Payless ShoeSource store near Southern Avenue and Gilbert Road in Mesa. According to police reports, Peterson threatened to hurt and kill the store clerk if she mentioned the robbery.

Petersen was stopped by police later the same day for an unrelated incident, but was arrested and charged when police realized he matched the description of the shoe thief. Petersen admitted that he was wearing one of the stolen pairs of shoes and that he traded the other pair of shoes, stolen socks, and other previously stolen items to support his meth dependency, according to police records.

In an interview with police, Petersen admitted that he traded stolen items and money for meth at a house near Warner and Lindsey roads in Gilbert, authorities said.

Police arrested Gilbert resident Cory R. Slater, 29, after searching his home and finding several stolen items. The search was conducted Tuesday and yielded several stolen clothing items and the pair of stolen Payless shoes. Other items found in the raid included several tools previously reported stolen, as well as several check books, credit cards, and passports reported missing from other burglaries, officials said.

Slater was faces charges of possession of stolen property, according to authorities, and Petersen faces robbery charges.