BROOKINGS – Authorities have arrested two men in connection with home and vehicle burglaries that occurred in Brookings on Nov. 11.
Dakota Durrani, 18, of Sioux Falls and Mitchell Arevalo, 24, of California are currently in the Minnehaha County Jail, Brookings Police Department Detective Adam Smith wrote in a news release Thursday. Both men were arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, identity theft, aggravated criminal entry of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, grand theft and criminal entry of motor vehicles.
During the course of the investigation by the BPD in Brookings, it was discovered that similar incidents had been reported in Brandon on Nov. 4 and Elk Point on Nov. 14.
Smith wrote that video surveillance from local community members was obtained and a maroon SUV was identified as likely being involved. Durrani and Arevalo are suspected of having used stolen credit cards in Minnesota from victims of the burglaries. Security from the Mall of America assisted with finding and tracking the suspects on video to a maroon Chevy Tahoe. The Bloomington (Minnesota) Police Department then assisted with identifying the license plate of the suspect vehicle using its automated license plate readers, Smith wrote.
On Nov. 22 in Minnehaha County, the South Dakota Highway Patrol arrested Durrani driving the Chevy Tahoe used in the burglaries. At that time he was arrested for an outstanding warrant out of Florida.
On Nov. 30, the Minnehaha County Warrant Task Force arrested Arevalo at his mother’s residence in Sioux Falls, Smith wrote. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed at the residence by the Brookings and Brandon police departments with the assistance of the Elk Point Police Department and the Sioux Falls Police Department. Stolen property from some of the burglaries was recovered along with clothing the suspects wore while using the stolen credit cards and merchandise purchased with the stolen credit cards.
Smith wrote that interviews were conducted with Durrani and Arevalo and that both confessed to their involvement in the burglaries and thefts from Brookings, Brandon and Elk Point. Additionally, they assisted investigators with recovering six stolen firearms from one of the burglaries in Brandon, and four other firearms and a silencer were turned over to law enforcement. One of the firearms was found to be stolen out of Elk Point.
Smith noted that due to the cooperative efforts of the police departments in Brookings, Brandon and Elk Point, along with the help of multiple other agencies and the ALPRs, law enforcement was able to solve multiple home and vehicle burglaries throughout southeastern South Dakota and recover 10 firearms.
