Phoenix police arrested Daniel Thompson and Michael Hummel after the Daniel Johnson storage unit burglary near 24th Street and Campbell Avenue in Phoenix. The theft was tied to $93,000 in missing property, including MLB gear, shoes, laptop computers and high-end purses.
The arrests followed a pawn shop encounter in which the suspects were trying to sell shoes. An employee recognized them from police photos and alerted authorities, leading to a search warrant at their home and the recovery of more items.
Daniel Johnson and Alison Wysong
Sheree Lee said the search turned up “Shoes, laptop computers, and MLB gear belonging to this victim with his name and number on it.” Police said the stolen property included items belonging to Daniel Johnson and his fiancée, Alison Wysong, and that the suspects were 48-year-old Daniel Thompson and 30-year-old Michael Hummel.
Johnson said the baseball apparel and memorabilia had been with him for over 10 years. “A lot of the other things were replaceable. But when it comes to the baseball... apparel and memorabilia that I had for over my 10 years... it really was a gut buster because I knew that unless I played for all those teams, there's no guarantee that I get that stuff back,” he said.
Phoenix Police Department
Police said the burglary happened on Sept. 27 and that several units at the storage facility were hit. Lee said, “It wasn't targeted in any way… they were going through the facility…breaking locks to get inside,” adding that the break-in involved multiple locks.
Johnson also said some of the stolen items were meant for charity. “Very personal to me to, you know, to give back to the kids. Cause I once was those little kids, you know,” he said. Wysong said the case reached beyond one victim: “It does sound like people really have been impacted, not just us. And we're hoping that our story is the one that really nails the guys and that everybody else can really get their belongings back as well,” she said.
Police are still taking inventory of the recovered items, and the search warrant evidence suggests part of the theft has already been traced back to the suspects’ home. For anyone hit by the burglary, the remaining question is how much of the missing property can be matched and returned.
