The City of Lafayette experienced a series of commercial burglaries and bicycle thefts beginning on the evening of February 17th. Over the course of the next six days, two suspects committed a plethora of crimes which included at least nine burglaries, five attempted burglaries and three bicycle thefts mostly from businesses already suffering detriment during the National Pandemic. Additionally, during the crime spree, the would-be thieves obtained multiple credit cards and took advantage by using them to make fraudulent purchases.

What started as a diligent citizen alerting authorities coupled with the help of situational awareness cameras and business camera footage, the pair of burglars were identified. The cases were linked in part by the common method used, which was by using a crowbar to gain entry into locked businesses after hours. The male and female team were also linked to a copious number of cases in several neighboring cities (Orinda, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill) and the male was later linked to crimes in Benicia, Sacramento and Butte County. With the assistance of a local Law Enforcement agency, the female was detained on February 25th, but the male slipped through the hands of authorities once again. On Saturday March 6th, the luck ran out for the outstanding male suspect and he was apprehended in Sacramento during a burglary in progress.

Charges are being filed with the District Attorney's Office.

I personally want to thank our business owners that had security cameras and were able to provide valuable footage of the crimes.

Thank you,

Ben

Ben Alldritt, Chief of Police 

City of Lafayette | 3471 Mt. Diablo Blvd | Lafayette, CA 94549

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