Man Accused of Targeting Millbrae Businesses in Commercial Burglaries Enters Plea

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A man accused of burglarizing seven businesses in San Mateo County pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in Redwood City, prosecutors said.

Joseph Goulart, 31, allegedly committed the burglaries between June and January, targeting businesses in Millbrae as well as in the El Granada and Half Moon Bay areas, according to the district attorney's office.

Goulart is being held on $200,000 bail, but prosecutors have filed a motion to require that the court examine the source of any money he uses to pay it before he can be released.

Attorney Francoise Caroline Espinoza with the San Mateo County's Private Defender Program has been appointed to represent Goulart.

He will return to court next Wednesday and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for March 21.

In an unrelated case, Goulart was arrested early Saturday morning after allegedly trying to steal an ATM at a mall near Half Moon Bay with an accomplice before the two suspects led law enforcement on a pursuit to San Jose, where they crashed the vehicle and were taken into custody.

— By Bay City News Service / Image via San Mateo County Sheriff's Office