Detectives with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department have connected a suspected auto burglar to a series of nearly two dozen similar crimes in Isla Vista.
Deputies on bicycle patrol in the 800 block of Camino Pescadero discovered a man in dark clothing peering into parked vehicles with a flashlight during the early morning hours of March 5. During questioning, deputies found the man, identified as Ezequiel Altamirano, 37, in possession of a stolen cell phone. A subsequent search of his residence revealed electronic equipment and he was arrested for providing false information to a police officer and for possession of stolen property.
After he was interviewed at the jail, detectives linked him to 21 other burglaries in Isla Vista, and valued items taken in the thefts at more than $6,000. Altamirano remains jailed on charges of auto burglary, possession of stolen property and an immigration detainer.
Authorities are encouraging individuals to keep parked vehicles locked, and to contact the I.V. Foot Patrol Station at 805.681.4179 for more information on auto burglaries in the Isla Vista area.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.
