Sedona police were reportedly searching between Rufous and Gambel in the Chapel area Wednesday, April 30, for an alleged burglar, described as white man, 6 feet 2 inches tall with short hair, blue shirt, black pants and possible neck tattoo. The suspect, later identified as 50-year-old Adam Christopher Sheafe, of Tucson, was arrested around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday.
Sedona police initially issued a Nixle alert for the area at 7:58 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, warning that the suspect was in the area. Another Nixle alert and 10:08 p.m. notified the public that the unnamed suspect had been arrested.
According to Sedona police, at 6:22 p.m., officers responded to a trespassing call at a registered short-term rental in the 100 block of Gambel Lane after Sheafe was seen on camera inside a garage opening boxes. Sheafe matched the description from an attempted burglary on Tuesday, April 29.
Police established a perimeter and requested additional officers due to Sheafe’s prior history with law enforcement.
After a brief search, Sheafe was located in nearby brush around 9 p.m., but fled on foot. Around 9:20 pm., officers located and arrested Sheafe and he was taken to the Coconino County Detention Center in Flagstaff and is being held on a $150,000 bonc.
Attempted Burglary on Tuesday
According to Sedona police, officers responded at 9:50 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29, to a call of a burglary in progress. The owner of a house in the 100 block of Rufous Lane called 9-1-1 reporting that he could see a male subject, later identified as Sheafe, walking around in the house through interior cameras.
Neighbors in the area stated that the then-unidentified suspect was a white man in a cowboy hat, light blue short-sleeved shirt over a long white-sleeved shirt and black jogger pants. The suspect reportedly entered the area at 9:34 a.m. and left at 9:53 a.m. He was carrying bolt cutters and driving a red, four-door truck with a full cover over the truck bed.
Officers responded to the residence but Sheafe was gone on arrival, according to police, but officers were able to obtain video surveillance of Sheafe’s vehicle, the make, model and color which was not specified in the police report. Sheafe was seen on security footage entering the home through a garage window before fleeing the scene. Officers located evidence of forced entry and gathered additional surveillance footage from neighboring homes.
Sheafe, the suspect seen in the video, was later located in the vehicle and fled police, who terminated the pursuit for safety reasons. Police found and secured the vehicle, but Sheafe had fled on foot, according to the police report.
Sheafe was positively identified by video surveillance from the Rufous Lane area after his arrest. The suspect’s description, method of entry
and presence in the area linked him to both incidents.
Previous Criminal History
Domestic Violence, 2013
On Monday, Jan. 23, 2013, at 11 p.m., Oro Valley police responded to a domestic violence call at North La Cañada Drive and West Lambert Lane where a female victim told police Sheafe, then 38 years old, had choked her and held her against her will.
That night, an arrest warrant was issued for Sheafe, wanted on charges of domestic violence, aggravated assault, domestic violence and kidnapping, according to the Oro Valley Police Department, north of Tucson.
After Oro Valley police asked for public help to locate Sheafe, he turned himself in on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2013, and was booked into Pima County Jail.
Credit Card Fraud, 2018
Five years later, on Nov. 1, 2018, Sheafe, then 44 years old, of Tucson, was sentenced to 94 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Raner C. Collins after Sheafe was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft by a federal jury.
The evidence at trial established that Sheafe used stolen credit card numbers obtained from co-conspirators to process hundreds of transactions through separate merchant accounts at Bank of America and Compass Bank. Sheafe conducted these fraudulent transactions in a short time frame and without the knowledge or consent of the actual cardholders.
Sheafe rapidly moved the proceeds out of the merchant accounts before the banks discovered the scheme. As a result of the scheme, the financial institutions suffered over $500,000 in losses. The investigation in this case was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson.
Federal Appeal of Fraud Conviction
Sheafe appealed his conviction in 2019 on the grounds that the district court’s refused to dismiss his indictment with prejudice due to an alleged violation of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act.
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied his appeal in December 2019, ruling that because the United States obtained custody of Sheafe from the state of Nevada pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, the IAD did not apply to the federal proceedings against him.
[United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 361, 98 S.Ct. 1834, 56 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978)]. Nor did the detainer lodged by the State of Arizona on unrelated charges trigger the IAD with respect to the United States [18 U.S.C. app. 2 § 2, art. IV(a)], “an officer of a receiving State ‘shall be entitled to have a prisoner against whom he has lodged a detainer and who is serving a term of imprisonment in any party State.’ temporary custody ‘shall be only for the purpose of permitting prosecution on the charge or charges which form the basis of the detainer or detainers or for prosecution on any other charge or charges arising out of the same transaction'” [Mauro, 436 U.S. at 359–62, 98 S.Ct. 1834.
The Ninth Circuit concurred that the district court correctly denied Sheafe’s motion to dismiss the indictment based on an alleged violation of the IAD.
After Prison
While Sheafe was due to be released in September 2026, he was released from prison early in February 2023 after serving 51 months of the 94-month sentence.
He subsequently moved to an address in Oceanside, Calif., north of San Diego.
Bankruptcy and Lawsuit
Sheafe applied for a name change to “Adam Christopher Sheaf” on March 28, 2023, with the San Diego County Superior Court’s North County Division.
As Adam Christopher Sheaf, he filed a Complaint For A Civil Case Alleging Negligence lawsuit in October 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, against Defendant NinjaTrader Group, LLC, a futures trading company.
Sheaf alleged the that company was negligent because it failed to close Sheaf’s futures trading account despite his repeated requests that it do so. As a result of NinjaTrader Group’s failure to close Sheaf’s account, Sheaf alleges that he lost his life savings of $42,769.82 and was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Federal District Court Judge Dana M. Sabraw ruled on Feb. 27, 2025, granting Sheaf’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis, i.e., without having the pay court fees due to being financially destitute, but also dismissing the case without prejudice, writing “Under California law, a claim for negligence requires a plaintiff to allege duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages … Here, plaintiff [Sheaf] fails to allege defendant [NinjaTrader Group LLC] owed him any duty whatsoever, much less a duty to close his accounts upon request. Absent that allegation and any facts or law to support the existence of a duty under the facts alleged, plaintiff’s complaint is subject to dismissal for failure to state a claim for relief under 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).”
Earlier April Call in the Area
In a previous call in the area, which may or may not be related, on Wednesday, April 16, a caller in the 200 block of Rufous Lane called police at 7:19 p.m. regarding two suspicious men going door-to-door claiming to be window washers. One man was described as wearing a red shirt and jeans, the other in a T-shirt and blue jeans. Both were reported to have a disheveled appearance and were last seen in the neighborhood before the call. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate either man.
