One half of the pair of serial burglars arrested last fall after a crime spree throughout Newberg admitted to a slew of those crimes in court this week.
Dylian Michael Lee Simkins, 28, pleaded guilty on June 18 in the Yamhill County Circuit Court to multiple counts of first-degree aggravated theft, second-degree burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Judge Cynthia Easterday ordered that Simkins serve eight years in prison for his crimes and approved a stipulated agreement that determined he should serve those counts consecutively.
Simkins also pleaded guilty to nine other counts, including additional instances of the three initial charges as well as first-degree criminal mischief and possession of controlled substances. In exchange for his guilty plea and via the stipulated order, Easterday ordered the remaining charges be served concurrently with the initial charges.
Simkins, 28, and Ellece Elizabeth Moser, 44, were arrested in mid-December following a slew of property crimes in Newberg during a three-week period in the fall. They were charged with 25 counts of aggravated theft, criminal mischief, theft, burglary, attempted theft, possession of meth and unauthorized use of a vehicle. The pair were arraigned in late December and indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 11.
However, Moser absconded in late January after being released on security, prompting the issuance of a nationwide warrant for her arrest by a Yamhill County deputy district attorney after receiving information from Arizona law enforcement authorities that she was in the area. She was arrested soon after by Phoenix police and transported back to Yamhill County, where she awaits trial while in custody at the county jail.
In addition to the initial criminal counts in Yamhill County, Moser also faces a failure to appear charge. She also faces charges in Maricopa County, including four counts of punitive contempt of court. Her bail was set at $5,000 prior to her being extradited to Oregon.
Crime spree rocks businesses
An investigation into Moser and Simkins’ activities began in November 2023 following burglaries reported at First Street businesses The Vineyard Bar & Grill and Antique Freak & Flea, Portland Road business Eden Gate Restaurant and the Dollar Tree store in the Springbrook Shopping Center.
The Dollar Tree burglary in particular drew the police’s attention. According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Newberg-Dundee Police Department, on Nov. 6, the manager of the store said she had reported to work to find that the store had been burglarized overnight.
Interviews with Dollar Tree employees found that a pair of individuals matching Moser and Simkins’ descriptions entered the store the night before the burglary and accessed an “employees only” area. Moser is a former employee of the store and was later identified as the suspect.
The pair allegedly broke into the store manager’s office and made off with the store’s safe, which contained more than $2,330 and four retail cash drawers.
During execution of a search warrant on a cell phone seized from the couple, detectives found a photograph from Nov. 6 where “a female appearing to be Moser can be seen sitting on the floor counting piles of cash from four retail-style drawers sitting next to a safe which has the lower vault door open,” the probable cause affidavit said, adding that it appeared the photo was taken in a residence, not the business.
A regional representative for Dollar Tree confirmed that the safe in the photo was a match for the one stolen from the manager’s office.
Allegations of malfeasance by the couple didn’t stop with the Dollar Tree heist. The unauthorized use of a vehicle charges against Moser and Simkins stem from the theft of Providence Newberg Medical Center’s emergency triage trailer, which went missing from the premises in October. The pair also allegedly stole or absconded with numerous vehicles over a three-month period, including a 2004 Ford E350 pickup, 1993 Ford F-150 pickup and a 2004 Ford F-250 pickup.
Neither Moser or Simkins are strangers to the criminal justice system. Moser was convicted in 2018 on charges of aggravated identity theft, third-degree theft and unauthorized use and entry into vehicles. She was sentenced to 36 months in prison, with two years of post-prison supervision, and ordered to enter a substance abuse program. She was released early from prison after her sentence was commuted by former Gov. Kate Brown in 2020.
At the time of his arrest, Simkins was on post-prison supervision for unlawful use of a motor vehicle and has had numerous prior arrests.
Most Popular
Comments / 0