Police arrested a 51-year-old Los Angeles man on July 17 in connection with a string of thefts and burglaries in that began during spring semester and continued into summer, police said.
Around $500 in cash, a laptop computer, credit cards, purses and wallets were stolen from both secured and unsecured faculty offices and common areas in multiple buildings since the thefts began, police Sgt. Dal Toruno, said.
“After the arrest everything (thefts and burglaries) stopped,” Toruno said. “We are still asking the faculty and staff to remain vigilant in securing their offices and buildings and to report suspicious individuals to the campus police,” He added.
Toruno said evidence suggested the alleged criminal was not working alone and was acting as a “middle man.”
The Arts and Behavioral Sciences, Music, and Student Services buildings were all targeted, Toruno said.
Junnette Farioln, a clerical assistant in the Student Services Center, said the Center was hit at least twice between June and July. Locked desk drawers were broken into overnight in one incident and a wallet was stolen from a counselor’s office during b daylight in another, she said.
“She (counselor) had a workshop around noon,” Farioln said. “Her door was closed but it was unlocked. I guess someone was watching her and someone came in and stole her wallet.”
After a faculty member was alerted of unauthorized activity on their stolen credit card, Torrance EC Detective Michael DeSanto was able to identify the suspect by using surveillance footage from a gas station where the card was used, Toruno said.
He said once the suspect had been identified, police found that he was on parole in San Bernardino County and were able to apprehend him during a check-in with his parole officer.
A search of the suspect’s residence yielded no physical evidence linking the suspect to directly participating in the burglaries and thefts, Toruno said.
However, police had gathered enough evidence to charge the suspect with two felony counts of unauthorized use of an access card, one count of receiving stolen property, and one count of identity theft, he said.
“We did connect him to two separate crimes, burglaries, that occurred on campus, because he had those credit cards in his possession,” Toruno said. “We have him on surveillance putting it in, and then also you have to put in the zip code, so obviously he had more information like their drivers license that would show their address and zip code.”
Toruno said tracking down and arresting the suspect was a team effort between police and DeSanto.
After being taken to the Torrance Police Department, the suspect was ordered to appear in court in August and released on bail, Toruno said.
Police would not release the suspect’s name due to on-going investigations related to the case by other law enforcement agencies, Toruno added.
“We are confident that the district attorney is going to file these charges and we are confident that it will be a successful prosecution with the case that the detective (DeSanto) put together,” Toruno said.
