Pair arrested for alleged South Lake Tahoe crime spree

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two women from the Bay Area have been arrested on suspicion of being responsible for several car burglaries over a two day period in South Lake Tahoe.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) received the first call at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10 after a car burglary at the Sierra Athletic Club on Tahoe Keys Boulevard. A car window had been smashed and a purse was stolen.

The second call came in at 5:30 p.m. from the Fit Republic Gym on Lake Tahoe Boulevard. The same method was used - a broken car window and a stolen purse.

On Thursday, April 11 at about 6:00 a.m., SLTPD started receiving calls of vehicle burglaries at Gym Love, located on Lake Tahoe Boulevard and again at the Sierra Athletic club.

Police investigations led them to a possible vehicle description and where credit cards from the stolen purses were being used. Officers went to Safeway and the CVS pharmacy, both on Lake Tahoe Blvd., where the cards were used.

An observant SLTPD officer saw a car in the CVS parking lot that matched the one suspected as being involved. Walking out of the store were two women, Kiasi Luboviski, 23, from Oakland, and Briana Williams, 23, from Fairfield. Officers contacted the pair and found several stolen items on their person and in their vehicle. SLTPD has tied them to six vehicle burglaries in South Lake Tahoe in less than 13 hours.

The two women are also suspects in Douglas County, Nevada burglaries.

"We believe there may be more in other jurisdictions," said SLTPD Lt. Shannon Laney.

They recovered $1500 in cash, five cell phones, a laptop computer, numerous gift cards, credit cards, and personal effects. These items will be returned to the owners. Laney asks that anyone witnessed these crimes or are a victim who has not yet reported it to the SLTPD Detective Unit at (530) 542-6100.

Luboviski and Williams were arrested and booked into the El Dorado County Jail on multiple felony charges - Burglary, Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, Grand Theft by Access of Credit Cards and Get Credit of Others. Their bail is currently $460,000 each on these charges.

"SLTPD would like to remind people that it is a well-known fact that people leave their wallets and purses in their vehicles when attending the gym," said Laney. " Please use lockers inside the gym when possible and never leave valuables in your vehicle unattended."

In the past 12 months, the police department has responded to 109 residential and commercial burglary cases and 103 theft from vehicle cases.

SLTPD's investigation of the crimes was interrupted on Wednesday afternoon by an unrelated vehicle pursuit that led officers on a high-speed chase through South Lake Tahoe that was eventually terminated due to the speeds and driving behavior of the suspect.

An officer was conducting a traffic stop for expired registration. The suspect took off at speeds up to 75 mph on Lake Tahoe Boulevard and driving into oncoming traffic. Due to the nature of the original traffic stop and the danger the pursuit posed to the public, the pursuit was terminated by all responding law enforcement. The vehicle was later located unoccupied in South Lake Tahoe. The driver has been identified and happens to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest on an unrelated crime.

"We will be catching up with him a little later with a fresh warrant in hand for felony evading," said Laney.