Suspect Linked To Several Burglaries Arrested In North County

VISTA, CA — A man who authorities say is suspected in at least five separate burglaries in the area was arrested in Vista, police said Wednesday.

Deputies from the Vista Sheriff's Station responded at 7:30 p.m. Sunday to a commercial burglary call in the 1600 block of South Melrose Drive and during the course of their investigation discovered two cash registers had been taken, said Sgt. Alfred Gathings of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators learned the burglary suspect went to an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Live Oak Road and with the help of a K9 unit and the Sheriff's Department helicopter they were able to locate the suspect, 35-year-old Victor Diaz, Gathings said.

Deputies arrested Diaz and inside an apartment complex where he lived they found evidence allegedly linking him to five different robberies, authorities said. Among the evidence found were the two missing cash registers, around $200 in currency and the clothing allegedly worn by Diaz during the burglary. Deputies also recovered a stolen handgun and ammunition taken in a burglary weeks prior to Diaz's arrest.

Diaz was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on several felony charges including burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being in possession of stolen property, Gathings said.

— City News Service