Oops! Alleged Burglar Drops Her Driver's License While Scrapping With Homeowner

A residential burglary suspect was arrested this morning after she accidentally dropped her driver’s license while struggling with the Peninsula homeowner.

Palo Alto police were called at about 10:35 a.m. from a resident who said she returned to her home on the 1000 block of Moffett Circle to find a female running from the house and carrying a backpack full of the homeowner’s property.

When the victim tried stopping the suspect, the tussle became physical, and the alleged burglar happened to drop her own driver’s license along with the stolen loot, police said.

The female suspect drove off in a beige Honda Pilot, and the homeowner called police and provided officers with the getaway vehicle’s license plate ... along with the woman’s driver’s license number.

The suspect, 20-year-old Giovanna Vargas Hernandez, and her vehicle were located at her home on Euclid Avenue in East Palo Alto within minutes, police said, adding that the woman was arrested there, without incident, at 11:04 a.m.

Police said Hernandez entered the Moffett Circle home through an unlocked rear window, ransacked the house and loaded a laptop and other items into a backpack. The homeowner arrived as Hernandez was on her way out, police said.

The victim sustained minor scrapes to an arm during the physical confrontation, but did not require medical treatment. She recovered all of her property outside of her home, police said.

Hernandez was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for two felonies, residential burglary and robbery, as a result of the physical struggle.

Detectives are investigating if Hernandez is connected with other residential burglaries, either in Palo Alto or surrounding communities.

Police remind residents to lock and secure all doors and windows whenever they are not home. For a list of other crime prevention tips, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org/StopCrime.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through a free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.