Duo Arrested on Suspicion of Vehicle Thefts

Roseville Officers arrested two males following recent car break-ins in the city. The two are being investigated to see if they are connected to other vehicle burglaries in Roseville and Sacramento.

About 5 p.m. Oct. 1, officers responded to a vehicle burglary that had just occurred in the lot of a fitness center in the 300 block of North Sunrise Avenue.  A witness reportedly saw a man take a purse out of a car in the parking lot, then drive away in a dark blue sedan.

At about 6:30 p.m., an officer spotted the suspect vehicle driving into the Safeway shopping center complex on Douglas Boulevard at Sierra College Boulevard. According to Roseville Police, the officer pulled into the lot in time to see one of the suspects break the window of a parked car, reach in and take a purse.  Officers stopped the suspect vehicle as it was exiting the lot and took both occupants into custody without incident.

Officers recovered stolen property, including wallets, purses and credit cards from the vehicle burglary that had just happened in the Safeway complex and from vehicle burglaries committed within the previous few hours from fitness center parking lots on North Sunrise Avenue and the 5000 block of Foothills Boulevard.

The suspects, a 21-year-old male and a 26-year-old male, both from West Sacramento, were arrested for burglary and related charges.  They're being investigated for additional vehicle burglaries in Roseville and Sacramento.

According to Roseville Police, two of the victims had parked their cars in fitness center parking lots, and then concealed their purses under a seat or in the trunk. It's likely the suspects were already in the parking lots, watching the women conceal their purses.  At the Safeway complex, the victim's purse was in plain sight on the passenger's seat.   The stolen purses contained credit cards and substantial amounts of cash.  The suspects tried to use the victims' credit cards soon after the thefts occurred.

Roseville Police warn residents not to leave purses, wallets and other valuable items in your parked car, but to instead take them with you or hid them out of sight before you reach your destination.