Authorities say a Fremont man has been formally charged in connection with an April 17 residential burglary in the Burlingame Hills, after a home left vacant following the homeowner’s recent death was allegedly picked clean of personal property and a vehicle.
Deputies identified the suspect as 41-year-old David A. Brown of Fremont. Investigators say prosecutors filed multiple felony counts against him on Thursday. Brown was already in custody by then, having been arrested in Oakland on unrelated charges on April 28, and he remains held at Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, according to a San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Facebook post.
How Investigators Tied Brown To The Burlingame Hills Break-In
San Mateo County detectives say they spent months piecing the case together, leaning on surveillance footage and automated license plate reader hits to place Brown at the house on the 100 block of Los Robles Drive. Follow-up searches in Oakland later turned up the victim’s stolen credit cards along with multiple items investigators say are linked to the Burlingame Hills burglary, according to a sheriff’s office release.
Charges And Alleged Offenses
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office has filed a stack of charges, including second-degree burglary (PC 460(b)), theft by use of access card information (PC 484g(a)), identity theft (PC 530.5(a)), theft from an elder or dependent adult (PC 368(d)) and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent (VC 10851(a)). Prosecutors lodged those counts on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s Facebook post.
Investigators say Brown may be linked to additional burglaries around the Bay Area. The broader probe has drawn help from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the Contra Costa County Probation Department and the San Francisco Police Department. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information about this case or related incidents to contact its detectives through the department’s tip channels.
