Two Lompoc residents in a stolen vehicle were arrested in Goleta after allegedly committing numerous burglaries in Santa Barbara County, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said.
Just before 7 a.m. Sunday, someone called dispatchers to say that a man and woman appeared to be breaking into vehicles near Burtis Street and San Marcos Road.
The suspects were observed pulling on the door handles of cars and were associated with a white Honda sedan that had paper license plates attached to the bumpers, Hoover said.
Deputies located the car nearby and conducted an enforcement stop, learning the vehicle had been stolen from the Santa Maria Valley.
Erika Krystal Garcia and Aldo Almanza, both 29 and from Lompoc, were arrested for multiple charges including vehicle theft and burglaries throughout the county, Hoover said.
“An inventory of the car yielded stolen property, burglary tools, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia,” she said. “The stolen property included thousands of dollars’ worth of power tools and a large quantity of stolen mail/documents. “
Garcia was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, burglary, possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, and a no-bail Probation Department detainer.
Almanza was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, burglary, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, grand theft, possession of methamphetamine, and a felony no-bail warrant stemming from a previous auto theft.
Both Garcia and Almanza were booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail and are being held without bail, Hoover said.
Anyone with information about this case and those who believe they own any of the recovered stolen property can contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at 805.681.4100.
To leave an anonymous tip, call 805.681.4171 or go to the Sheriff’s Department website by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.