3 arrested in home burglary

Maricopa Police Department arrested three people accused of burglarizing a Maricopa Meadows home Tuesday night. 

Police arrested Paul Soliz, 56, Melissa Sheeder, 28, and Deborah Portera, 61, in the home’s backyard after the trio told cops they were there to clean the house, according to a probable cause statement obtained by InMaricopa. 

Cops responded to a reported break-in on West Dutchman Drive just before 10 p.m. The caller told dispatch there were three people removing the window screens from the home’s back windows. 

The caller said that the home was unoccupied, and no one should be there. 

Soliz tried to flee when officers rocked up, according to police documents. The cops held Soliz at gunpoint until they could safely handcuff him. 

Sheeder and Portera were taken into custody shortly after. 

Police noted several window screens strewn in the backyard and that an electrical box was damaged. They estimated damage to be greater than $1,000 in value. 

Soliz told officers he was going to Sheeder’s house to fix her bike when she ushered him into the backyard of that unoccupied house. 

Sheeder told police she was trying to enter the home to clean it but couldn’t find a way in. She said Portera helped her take the window screens off to get into the home. Portera said Sheeder asked her to help clean the home. 

The homeowner later told police Soliz, Sheeder and Portera were not supposed to be at the home. 

InMaricopa previously reported on an arrest of Sheeder, who was accused of breaking into a model home with her brother earlier this year. 

Soliz and Sheeder were booked into the Pinal County jail on three felony charges of third-degree burglary, criminal damage and possessing burglary tools. 

They both face 21 years in prison. 

Portera faces two felony counts of third-degree burglary and criminal damage. 

She faces 11 years in prison. 

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