By Morgan Freret
Staff writer

The man suspected in over 80 Bay Area auto burglaries, includingt 11 in the Los Altos area was arrested by Menlo Park police Thursday, December 4.

The suspect arrested is a 21-year-old San Jose male. Because of the similar M.O. (modus operandi – a method of operating or functioning), the police department is confident that the suspect is responsible for the burglaries. The Los Altos Police Department believes that there was no accomplice in the burglaries.

“Our best information is that this is a sole suspect committing the burglaries....Since early September, we’ve had 11 window-smashing burglaries of automobiles parked on school campuses or at churches in the Los Altos area,” said Los Altos Police Sergeant John Hughmanick, who led the Los Altos investigation into the burglaries.

A car burglary occurred at the school between 5:05 and 5:24 p.m. on November 20. A mother parked to pick up her daughter from school, leaving her purse in the front seat. When she returned to the vehicle, the right passenger window had been smashed in and her purse had been taken.
According to Hughmanick, the stolen property was recovered two days later in a garbage can at Covington School. The victim’s purse, wallet, check book and credit cards were all recovered.

“The suspect did about $175 worth of damage to take only $15 in cash,” Hughmanick said.

Ten other car burglaries have occurred at schools and churches in the Los Altos area.

Four burglaries were reported at Egan Middle School, one at St. Williams Catholic Church, two at Los Altos United Methodist Church, two at Pinewood Middle School and one at Montclair High School.

“The M.O. on all these [burglaries] is essentially identical. The suspect smashes the window, reaches inside the vehicle and removes the purse or wallet and any other valuables. For the most part the items taken are then later found discarded,” Hughmanick said.

According to Hughmanick, a vehicle would be left for a short period of time with the purse or wallet visible.

The actual burglary would take place in a 30 to 45 second interval, and the suspect would escape before anyone realized what had happened.

The Los Altos police contacted the Stanford and Menlo Park Police Departments only to find out that since September, over 80 auto burglaries with the same M.O. had been reported in the Bay Area.

The Los Altos Police Department worked closely with the Menlo Park department in the investigation.

“We conducted surveillances at several locations where we felt there was a likelihood of the suspect returning and committing another crime,” Hughmanick said.