Aurora police are conducting an internal investigation into a couple's charge that officers stole electronics and a black leather jacket from their wrecked Honda eight months ago.

The items, valued at $5,000 to $8,000, allegedly went missing after police responded to a rollover accident at East Hampden Avenue and South Parker Road in March.

"We're taking (the complaint) seriously," said Detective Shannon Lucy, spokeswoman for Aurora Police Department. "We are investigating it, and if we find that there was a violation, it will be dealt with."

Amber Schull, 23, and her boyfriend, Ricardo DeJesus, 30, allege several items were taken from their 2004 Honda Accord after police took possession of the car.

They include a limited-edition Harley Davidson leather jacket, Toshiba laptop computer, a Sony PlayStation video game system, digital camera, Apple iPod and accessories.

Most of the items were inside two black duffel bags lying on the front seat, according to police reports.

"The police admitted to seeing the property in the car, and there should be some accountability here," said Schull. "They conducted a criminal investigation and concluded the stuff was left in the car, and it must have fell out while the tow truck made a turn somewhere.

"Yeah, right," she said facetiously. "We'll probably never get the property back, but it's gotten to a point we can't let this go."

Police conducted an initial investigation in April and found that officers saw the laptop and other items on the front seat of the car in two black duffel bags.

One officer took photos of the duffel bags.

But the initial investigation was shelved after investigators concluded the property may have fallen out of the car during the tow.

Police Chief Dan Oates ordered an internal affairs investigation in July. He said he could not discuss the ongoing investigation.

Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, who serves on the Public Safety Committee, said the explanation of how the property went missing "doesn't make sense on the face of it."

While it's unclear what happened to the property, it is clear the officers involved did not follow department policy.

Driver fled the scene

Police are required to seize valuable items from a vehicle when it is being towed, parked or secured. The property must be recorded and placed in the property room for safekeeping, department policy states.

City officials said it now appears the city may have to reimburse the couple for the property.

"If we find we were at fault, reparations will be paid," Lucy said.

The couple's ordeal began March 26 when Schull lost control of her Honda and flipped it while heading north on South Parker Road. She said she had just left a poker event at a nearby sports bar, where she admits to drinking two shots.

Schull and her passenger fled the accident, and later that night, Schull reported the crash and turned herself in to the police. She was cited for careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Six officers responded to the accident, but it appears the two officers in charge of securing the vehicle and having it towed were John Falco and Everett Williams, according to police reports.

Neither officer responded to requests for interviews.

Falco said in reports that he saw the missing items in the front seat of the Honda. He also stated that he opened a black bag and saw a laptop inside, but he left it in its bag.

Williams took photographs of two black bags and a Harley Davidson black coat in the car as it rested on its roof, according to police reports.

When Falco was asked his opinion on how the property went missing, he told investigators it may have slid out of the car while being towed, "possibly while the tow truck was making a turn."

Investigators found the car had extensive damage.

The driver's side door was ajar and could not be secured shut, the driver's side front window was either down or completely broken out, and the passenger side rear window was broken out.

In the initial investigation of the missing items, Detective Claudia Shires wrote in her report: "I found that it appeared to me that the skylight and front passenger and driver side windows created an opening big enough for a laptop to exit through."

But the tow truck driver's statements seem to contradict such a conclusion.

The car was taken to the M&M Towing lot in Aurora.

Driver Jesse Escobedo told investigators that Falco and Williams told him there "was nothing of value" inside the car before giving the OK to tow the Honda, according to police reports.

Calls to Escobedo were referred to M&M Towing management, which did not return messages seeking comment.

'Treasure hunt'

Escobedo told investigators he never entered the car but rolled it back onto its wheels and waited in the tow truck until Falco stated the Honda was ready for towing.

Falco also told investigators the tow employee had not been made aware of the laptop in the car, according to police reports.

And Nathan Moore, an M&M towing employee who checked in the Honda the night it arrived at the impound lot, stated Williams did not document any items of value on the inventory report.

"They saw this accident as a treasure hunt," said Ricardo DeJesus, owner of the missing video game system.

"There are so many inconsistencies in their statements, it's absurd."

This is not the first time the Aurora Police Department has investigated missing property inside the department.

A probe was conducted in 2003 after $6,000 in seized drug money went missing, resulting in stricter property room procedures.

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