'Bloody Leash' Witness, Fiancée Arrested in Celebrity Burglary Case
Story took a bizarre turn after Darwin Vela went missing for three days.
Nov. 26, 2013— -- A crime witness who went missing for three days last week leaving behind his dog and a bloody leash has been arrested, along with his fiancée on suspicion of burglarizing the home of Nicolas Cage's former girlfriend.
The arrests of Darwin Vela, 22, and his fiancee, Kelly McLaren, 24, were the latest twist in the bizarre case after Vela's brief disappearance last Tuesday.
Vela was scheduled to testify last Thursday at a preliminary hearing for Richard Orozco, who prosecutors allege stole computers and other items from the home of Christina Fulton, Cage's former girlfriend.
Police told the Associated Press they believe Vela and McLaren were in the getaway car at the time of the burglary.
At the hearing last week, a detective testified that Vela, McLaren and Orozco met with an attorney who represents Charlie Sheen before the burglary and claimed there was a sex tape involving the star, the AP reported.
Prosecutors said there is no evidence such a tape exists, however investigators are probing whether the purported tape may have been the target of the burglary.
Two days before the hearing, Vela took his dog for a walk in his South Los Angeles neighborhood. He never returned, although his fiance said she found the Labrador in the neighborhood with a smear of blood on its leash.
"He was crying, and Darwin wasn't anywhere. So I took the leash, and I noticed on the leash there was a thumb print of blood and a drag mark, where it looked like the leash had been pulled from his arm," McLaren told ABC News' Los Angeles owned station KABC.
Vela was found Friday afternoon, one day after he had been due to testify.
Police told KABC they are investigating Vela's story that he was assaulted by three men during the walk and then went into hiding.
Vela and McLaren were both released from the Los Angeles County Jail early this morning, according to online records.
ABCNews.com was not immediately able to reach them for comment. The couple are due back in court on Dec. 16.
