A Santa Maria man is facing felony embezzlement and theft charges for allegedly stealing computers and computer components from a local repair shop. 

Matthew Shoemake, 39, was arrested last week, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

Shoemake allegedly took computers and components such as hard drives, laptops and other items with the value of $20,000 from Computer Solutions, a repair shop on Arctic Avenue in Santa Maria, according to Detective Eduardo Servin.

Shoemake had been working for Computer Solutions when the thefts were reported by his former employer on June 19.

Because Shoemake was one of the repair shop’s only employees, investigators quickly began looking into him as a possible suspect. 

The Detective Bureau took over the investigation and the Property Crimes Unit obtained a search warrant for a storage locker on Preisker Lane rented by Shoemake.

Shoemake was taken into custody on Wednesday without incident, and investigators found several stolen computers and computer components in the storage unit, according to police. 

Many of the stolen items are still missing, and anyone with any information related to this case is asked to contact Servin at 805.928.3781, ext. 1367, or the Communications Center at 805.928.3781, ext. 2277.

— Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway can be reached at rcaraway@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.