BUSTED: Suspect Who 'Helped' Then Robbed Intoxicated Man Arrested

A 20-year-old man suspected of burglarizing a Santa Cruz home last month after assisting an intoxicated resident inside was arrested on Thursday, a sheriff’s sergeant said.

Brandon Munoz Hernandez was arrested in connection with a residential burglary in the 2000 block of East Cliff Drive that happened on Sept. 21, sheriff’s Sgt. Kelly Kent said.

The resident, a 66-year-old man, was intoxicated and walking by Sunny Cove Drive around 6:40 p.m. when he was caught the attention of a passing car and asked the driver for a ride home, Kent said. The driver, later identified as Hernandez, complied with the request, the sergeant said.

[Previous: ‘Nice Guy’ Helps Intoxicated Man Home, Then Loots The Residence: Police.]

Hernandez, who was accompanied by a female toddler, burglarized the home as the resident was sleeping for several hours and the entire incident was captured on video by the home’s surveillance system, Kent said.

Multiple tips led investigators to identify Hernandez as the suspect and a search warrant was served at his Watsonville home on Thursday, according to Kent.

Information at the Watsonville home led detectives to a Santa Cruz residence in the 100 block of Felker Street where Hernandez was found, the sergeant said.

He confessed to committing the burglary and said the stolen property was at a Public Storage facility in the 2500 block of Soquel Drive in Santa Cruz, Kent said.

Two large-screen televisions, furniture, men’s suits and golf clubs were among the items recovered at the Public Storage facility, the sergeant said.

The toddler with Hernandez at the time of the burglary is safe and with family members, Kent said. Hernandez was arrested and on suspicion of burglary, child endangerment and probation violation.

He was booked into county jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

--Bay City News