PHOENIX — An arrest has been made after a burglary at Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs' office in downtown Phoenix Tuesday, police said.
Phoenix police announced the update Thursday morning and identified the suspect as 36-year-old Daniel Mota Dos Reis.
Officers were called to Hobbs' campaign headquarters near Central and Virginia avenues Tuesday at around 2 p.m., the Phoenix Police Department said.
When officers arrived, they discovered several items had been taken from the building sometime during the night.
Detectives said they initially checked security cameras in an attempt to identify and locate the people involved.
On Oct. 26, a patrol officer saw the image of the security cameras and recognized Dos Reis as a suspect that was arrested earlier in the day for another unrelated commercial burglary.
Court records show a security guard allegedly spotted Dos Reis earlier this week trespassing at a building near Central and Ashland avenues. The suspect then returned multiple times before he was detained Wednesday morning and found in possession of several burglary tools.
Phoenix police say Dos Reis was still in jail but was set to be released for the earlier offenses before they connected him to the break-in at Hobbs' office. The officer contacted the jail and he was re-arrested on one count of third-degree burglary.
Upon the arrest, Hobbs' campaign officials sent the following statement Thursday afternoon:
"We are very thankful that the Phoenix Police Department acted so quickly to arrest a suspect. We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this investigation unfolds," part of the statement read.
Court records indicate Mota Dos Reis had been previously charged with attempted trespassing in Phoenix. The suspect appears to have had other legal issues for failing to appear court, records show.
Police gave no indication the burglary of the campaign office was linked to politics.
On Wednesday, Hobbs’ campaign suggested, without evidence, in a written statement that controversial rhetoric in the past by her opponent Kari Lake regarding elections was related to the break-in.
“Earlier this week, a break-in occurred at our campaign headquarters. We continue to cooperate with law enforcement as they investigate, and we are thankful to the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department for their work to keep us safe.
“Secretary Hobbs and her staff have faced hundreds of death threats and threats of violence over the course of this campaign. Throughout this race, we have been clear that the safety of our staff and of the Secretary is our number one priority.
“Let’s be clear: for nearly two years, Kari Lake and her allies have been spreading dangerous misinformation and inciting threats against anyone they see fit. The threats against Arizonans attempting to exercise their constitutional rights and their attacks on elected officials are the direct result of a concerted campaign of lies and intimidation.
However, police noted the suspect had a criminal history of shoplifting and assaulting an officer, and had just been arrested for another commercial burglary this week. There is no evidence to support Hobbs’ claim.
Asked to comment about the burglary Thursday morning, Hobbs declined.
Thursday afternoon, Lake held a news conference to criticize Hobbs for her unfounded accusation.
“She knew that I had nothing to do with that break-in and yet she perpetuated that lie,” Lake said.
Lake also criticized the news media for covering the story. When asked for a response to Hobbs’ claim Wednesday night, Lake called the reporters in attendance “despicable” and suggested they should not be covering the burglary at all. Police had already released information earlier in the day about the burglary and Hobbs had released a statement commenting on Lake’s campaign rhetoric.
While lambasting reporters Wednesday, Lake compared the burglary and the media attention surround it to the Jussie Smollett case, in which an actor faked a hate crime and was eventually exposed and convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct.
“This sounds like a Jussie Smollett part two,” Lake said.
Asked Thursday if she had evidence the burglary was staged, Lake said it was not her intention to suggest the burglary was staged.
“I was pointing out that the media loves to run with these bogus stories that hurt conservatives,” Lake said
Hobbs' campaign office also released surveillance photos showing the person who may have carried out the burglary.
The Arizona Democratic Party also commented about the break-in on social media.
Republican candidate for Governor Kari Lake talked about the situation Wednesday night following a rally in Peoria. 12News asked about the statement by the State Democratic party on Twitter, "I'm saddened that Hobbs and her campaign would try to pin this on us," Lake says. Believing the person responsible didn't realize it was a campaign office. Lake says, "I can't believe that [Hobbs} would blame my amazing people, blame me for something like that."
If you have any information, you are asked to call Phoenix police at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
This is a developing story. Stay with 12News for updates.
Silent Witness:
Arizona's Silent Witness program allows people to send in tips and share information about crimes happening within their local communities.
The program shares unsolved felony case information in multiple ways, including TV, radio and social media.
Anyone who has information on a crime or recognizes a suspect described by the program is asked to call 480-948-6377, go to the program's website online or download the Silent Witness app to provide a tip. The identity of anyone who submits a tip is kept anonymous.
Calls to Silent Witness are answered 24/7 by a live person and submitted tips are accepted at all times. Submitted tips are then sent to the detective(s) in charge of the specific case.
Individuals who submit tips that lead to an arrest or indictment in the case can get a reward of up to $1,000.
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