A high-tech heist hunt led Colma cops straight to a serial shoplifter last week, netting them a sticky-fingered suspect with a penchant for grand thefts around the Bay Area, the Colma Police Department reported. The action-packed arrest unfolded last Friday after an Automated License Plate Reader pinged law enforcement about a vehicle linked to a man wanted for multiple thefts in Colma. The Colma Police Department described the afternoon caper in a Facebook post that was published early yesterday.
Rushing to the scene near Colma and Junipero Serra Boulevards, police found the car coolly parked in a lot of a local business. Inside, the suspect was busy at work, unaware that officers had already teamed up with the business' loss prevention officer who, after confirming his identity via security footage, tied him to other thefts totaling about $7,059.35 from the same business. The suspect, running with a no-bail warrant on his heels, didn't know it yet, but his crime spree was about to end.
After waiting for the suspect to exit, Colma Police's attempt to collar the suspect turned into a foot chase when he bolted. Fleeing to a second business about two blocks away, he found a temporary hideaway in some nearby bushes. But with the Daly City Police's drone buzzing overhead and a K-9 unit from San Bruno Police snapping at his trail, the suspect's hiding spot didn't stay secret for long. According to the Colma Police Department, "upon contact with the male, he attempted to flee a second time but was safely taken into custody with the assistance of San Bruno Police K-9 Greg."
The 29-year-old suspect from Hayward was slapped with several charges: resisting arrest, grand theft, burglary, and for a felony no-bail warrant issued out of county. The Colma Police Department thanked their partners in crime-fighting, the San Bruno Police Department, the Daly City Police Department and the South San Francisco Police Department for their help in booking the suspect into the San Mateo County Jail. Recognizing the cooperative effort, the Colma Police said, "Thank you San Bruno Police Department, Daly City Police Department and South San Francisco Police Department for your assistance!"
