Broken locks, trash and emptied lockers: Customers frustrated, concerned after string of break-ins at Santa Rosa storage facility

At the Storage King USA on Dutton Meadow in Santa Rosa on Jan. 12, the rows of storage containers were strewn with trash, remnants of contents that once filled some of the now-empty units with pried open locks and doors ajar.

One door was ripped completely off its hinges, and in another part of the lot, a large hole was cut in the fence encircling the property.

It didn’t take long to run into someone grappling with the string of break-ins at the facility, where people say basic security and communication from management has been lacking for weeks.

Koop Ferwerda had arrived the day before to find “everything of value” gone from his storage unit ― laptops and other electronics, a circular saw, e-bikes and more. That day, he was picking through what was left, mostly old holiday decorations and the like, that a 1-800-JUNK truck was arriving to cart off.

Echoing others there that day and hundreds of Nextdoor comments, Facebook posts and Yelp and Google reviews, he told me that in the past month, the security gate had been repeatedly left open and was even broken for a time around the holidays.

Worse still, there’d been no notice or warning from the company about any of the widespread thefts on-site, everyone I spoke to said.

“The staff here didn’t let anybody know,” Ferwerda told me, noting the only communication he’s received is an automated text about his scheduled rental payment.

Though the gate was fixed, he was discouraged to see no clear signs of any new additional security measures.

“They haven’t done anything to protect anybody’s stuff at all,” he said. “Might as well put a sign that says ‘free sh-t.’”

“It’s been complete anarchy here,” another renter Gerry Mello said outside his storage locker. “This is irresponsible. There hasn’t been anyone to talk to.”

Mellow’s unit was safe. A friend’s, however, was raided. Earlier in the week, to better protect his property and with no confidence in management, Mellow put screws into the door’s top and bottom. He removed the lock in the hopes the locker would look empty or abandoned.

Sharon McDaniel found out about the break-ins before anything of hers was stolen through a NextDoor post.

She couldn’t get a call back from the local manager and a complaint through the corporate website went unanswered. On Jan. 11, in a light rain, she hired a friend to help her move all her belongings out of her storage unit. The gate was open, she said.

McDaniel and others said they noticed a sharp decline since Storage King USA took over from Extra Space Storage last year, despite the fact that rent has increased twice. In August, McDaniel was paying $81 in rent. By December, it was up to $104, and without notice, she said. She canceled her auto-pay.

But, the fact that people might not know about the situation bothered her most of all.

“This is a story that needs to get out,” she told me. “There’s hundreds of people whose stuff is in harm’s way.”

Unable to get in touch with someone to cancel his account, Ever Borjas, blocked future payments and created a dispute through his bank to try to get money back for past payments. As he sees it, he didn’t get the service he was promised.

When I reached Chris Runckel, chief operating officer at New York City-based Andover Properties LLC, the parent company of Storage King USA, on Jan. 20, he told me he was just getting off the phone with the district manager and a Santa Rosa police detective.

He said policy is to do twice-daily lock checks and that there had been attempts to contact people with compromised storage. However, some people might not have updated their contact information since the takeover from the previous owner.

Storage King USA, which operates 154 locations in 18 states, closed on the property in August. He was aware of five reports through the call center that he’s overseeing.

“We’re making the investment to make sure we minimize the liability to our customers, as well as ourselves,” Runkel said, adding the company also suffered significant losses and a break-in to the office. “We’re not taking this lightly.”

The company is installing an entirely new gate system in the next week and doubling the number of cameras, he told me.

“Continuous improvement is what we strive for, and we have all hands on deck here.”

According to Sgt. Chris Mahurin on Thursday, the Santa Rosa Police Department currently has eight open investigations associated with different storage units. “I don’t believe there was surveillance where the burglaries occurred,” he said.

The police department started getting calls toward the end of December which have continued into the beginning of this week.

Community service officers responded to many of the initial complaints and, at first, had trouble getting hold of management, as well, Mahurin said. They have since been in contact.

On Jan. 12, the police arrested a suspect, Juan Manuel Barrigan, who was still in custody as of Friday, without bail. A search warrant turned up missing property that was returned to owners, and he’s been charged with multiple related theft charges. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone wishing to report a break-in can call the nonemergency line at 707-528-5222.

Officers that serve the area are doing extra patrols to show a presence and hopefully discourage future theft attempts, Mahurin said.

The day I visited, I passed two police cars on the way out.

In the meantime, renters at Storage King USA are dealing with the fallout. Robin Summerfield had a whole flatbed trailer worth thousands of dollars stolen from the facility. She and her husband moved the second travel trailer they stored there home where it’s now sitting in their front yard. They’re considering filing a small claims case.

Even some of those whose property was spared are scrambling to find a new storage option and move what they have. Others, who want to leave but can’t afford to, instead, are spending time, energy and gas money to frequently check their belongings are safe.

“I have to go out of my way every two days to check on my stuff until I can figure something else out,” Hope Lehman, who is homeless, told me.

“My whole life is in that stupid storage,” she said, and the worry takes a toll.

“You’re sitting at the gate every time and thinking, 'Oh my God, is my stuff is going to be there when I get there?’”

“In Your Corner” is a column that puts watchdog reporting to work for the community. If you have a concern, a tip, or a hunch, you can reach “In Your Corner” Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.