Homeless camp bunker search nets $100K stash of stolen goods

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Six people have been arrested in the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Jose after officers discovered an underground bunker at a homeless encampment with $100,000 of stolen power tools, weapons and other goods, police said.

Officers on Tuesday recovered the stolen property that was taken to the bunker near a creek after it was stolen from a nearby business, San Jose police said in a statement.

The thieves stole power tools, three hunting shotguns, ammunition, and three pickup trucks that police said were used to transport the haul to a bunker near Coyote Creek in San Jose.

Images from authorities showed that the bunker had wooden beams, walls and a ceiling and electricity extension cords that police said appeared to be “plugged into somebody else’s source.”

Officers saw one of the stolen trucks in the area and stopped a man near the vehicle on Monday, when the theft was reported to authorities, the Mercury News reported.

Police said that man was searched by officers because he was on probation for auto theft and that he had a ghost gun, the term used for privately assembled firearms that are usually impossible to trace because they are not registered and do not have serial numbers.

The bunker search then happened on Tuesday.