​2 Arrested After Bloody Break-In At NorCal Middle School

PACIFIC GROVE, CA — Two men were arrested Thursday in connection with a break-in at a Pacific Grove school that left behind a trail of blood and a ransacked cafeteria, police said.

Officers responded around 7:40 a.m. to a report of a burglary at Pacific Grove Middle School on Forest Avenue. Upon arrival, they discovered a broken window and signs of forced entry into the school cafeteria, according to the Pacific Grove Police Department.

Responding officers searched the campus and found large amounts of blood, including pooling, bloody footprints, and a trail that appeared to originate from the point of entry. Police said the blood was later confirmed to have come from one of the suspects, 23-year-old Gabriel Mario Guertin, who injured his hands, feet, and head during the break-in.

Officers tracked the blood trail across campus until it disappeared, then worked with staff from the Pacific Grove Unified School District to review surveillance footage. Officers immediately recognized one of the suspects, 22-year-old Zachary Shelby Malone. Guertin was identified shortly afterward.

Around 1:30 p.m., officers found Guertin and Malone in Pacific Grove. Police said "a confession was obtained" from the suspects, who were both residents of Pacific Grove. They were arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy.

Investigators said multiple money tills in the cafeteria had been opened and rummaged through, though no cash was taken. However, a "large quantity of food and food products" had been stolen from a walk-in refrigerator. The missing food was later found dropped near Hillcrest Avenue.

Both suspects were on probation or supervised release at the time of the break-in and have extensive criminal histories, police said.

Guertin has prior arrests for alleged felony and misdemeanor domestic violence, false imprisonment, violations of probation, DUI, providing false information to a peace officer, and resisting or delaying an officer.

Malone has been previously arrested for alleged vandalism, DUI, resisting or delaying an officer, disorderly conduct, battery, loitering, child abuse, and criminal conspiracy. He had also been arrested just two days earlier in an unrelated battery case.

"We remind the public that crimes like burglary are often preventable with early reporting and community vigilance," the department said. "Our ability to quickly resolve incidents like this depends heavily on the involvement and attentiveness of our residents and local institutions."

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