A Santa Maria man was being held without bail Thursday night after being arrested on auto-theft, mail-theft and burglary charges, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Juan Cruz Chavez, 31, was taken into custody at 5:45 p.m. on Concepcion Avenue in Santa Maria while driving a stolen 2011 GMC Sierra pickup, the CHP said.
Chavez already was wanted on vehicle-theft charges, and was being sought by the CHP and San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputies.
In conjunction with Chavez’s arrest, investigators located hundreds of pieces of stolen mail, and property taken in residential burglaries in San Luis Obispo, Orcutt, Santa Maria and Los Alamos, the CHP said.
They also connected Chavez to a 2015 Hyundai Sonata that was stolen during a residential burglary in Orcutt on Wednesday, the CHP said.
Chavez was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of vehicle theft, residential burglary and mail theft.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
