Two suspects were arrested early Saturday after a South Coast burglary spree that ended when a Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputy spotted them at a gas station in Carpinteria.
About 12:45 a.m. Saturday, an alarm alerted sheriff’s deputies to a break-in at a business in the 4200 block of State Street. When responding, they found the front door lock had been damaged, and some merchandise in the store was apparently missing.
During the next two hours, deputies received more than a dozen similar reports at two businesses in the 100 block of South Patterson Avenue, three businesses in the 5700 block of Calle Real and one business in the 100 block of North Fairview Avenue.
About 3:24 a.m., a deputy aware of the rash of burglaries spotted two men acting suspiciously at a gas station at the Casitas Pass Road exit in Carpinteria. After interviewing the men, the deputy discovered a large amount of merchandise and cash in their vehicle.
Later Saturday morning, at least four more businesses reported similar break-ins overnight. In all, 11 businesses in the Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction reported being victimized by burglary overnight.
Michael Ray Marval, 48, and Lonnie Wayne Roth, 43, were booked into the County Jail.
Marval was being held on a no-bail parole hold. Roth was booked for burglary, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy. Bail was set at $250,000.
— Drew Sugars is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.