It sounds like a very unsettling magic trick: Leave valuables in cars in Thousand Oaks and they disappear.

Well, maybe it's not David Copperfield after all.

Now police say they've found two reasons why car stereos, iPods, cellphones, GPS devices, laptop computers, power tools, wallets, purses and loose change vanished from inside parked cars on Thousand Oaks streets—Jason Wines, 29, and Faustino Garcia, 21, both from Thousand Oaks.

Wines and Faustino, along with North Hills resident Alfonso Albarran, 35, and Juan Barboza, 30, of Santa Fe, N.M., are allegedly responsible for at least 50 burglaries and thefts from vehicles since the beginning of the year, a police report said.

Since their arrests last month the number of vehicle thefts reported in Thousand Oaks has plummeted, said Detective Eric Buschow.

But, he warned, people still need to lock their vehicles and not leave valuables in plain sight inside.

A recent late-night traffic stop of a Lincoln Navigator revealed a significant amount of allegedly stolen property inside the vehicle.

Barboza had driven the Navigator to Thousand Oaks to meet with Wines and Garcia and allegedly purchase stolen property from the two men.

Investigators made arrests and impounded the vehicle. A search of a nearby home rented by Garcia uncovered additional stolen property. As the investigation progressed, the focus turned to the San Fernando Valley, where, it is believed, the stolen property was being sold to people on the street.

During a recent surveillance of Albarran, investigators witnessed him stealing property from a vehicle in Simi Valley before driving to his North Hills home. A police search of the home allegedly revealed additional stolen property from Thousand Oaks.

All four men were arrested for possession of stolen property, along with a variety of other criminal charges. Albarran was also being investigated on a possible immigration violation. It's believed he was previously deported as an undocumented immigrant.

Wines was also charged with felony possession of a controlled substance. He and Garcia were both arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.