Crime & Safety

Sisters Charged With Selling Stolen Cameras From Minnetonka High School

Mariah Christine Lobley, 22, and Brea Virie Lobley, 20, were each charged on Dec. 16 with one felony count of receiving stolen property.

Police believe $4,000 in Yearbook Committee equipment was stolen and posted to sell on Craigslist.

A teacher at Minnetonka High School reported that four cameras, lenses and other camera equipment was stolen on March 20, 2013.

Mariah Christine Lobley, 22, and Brea Virie Lobley, 20, were each charged on Dec. 16 with one felony count of receiving stolen property. Neither of the sisters' addresses are known by the court.

The MHS teacher told Minnetonka Police the equipment was missing from a cabinet that is usually locked but wasn't the evening before. Police watched surveillance video and identified a male and female, with partially covered faces and backpacks, from prior contact with them. 

The MHS teacher found two listings on Craigslist with items matching those from MHS. Officers contacted the seller and set up a meeting with the Lobley sisters in Minneapolis. Officers say all items matched those from MHS and two of them had residue where Minnetonka property stickers had been removed. 

The sisters allegedly told police that they were going to give the money back to one of the people seen on the surveillance footage but they didn't know the equipment was stolen. Police found phone calls made from one of the people seen on the video to one of the sisters' cell phones just prior to and just after the equipment was stolen.

The sisters are not in custody. The penalty for a receiving stolen property conviction is 0-5 years and/or $10,000.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.