Police: San Carlos Car Thefts Solved After Pursuit of Vehicle with Stolen Plates

By Bay City News Service:

Property stolen from four cars in a San Carlos parking lot Friday afternoon was recovered in Alameda County early Saturday morning after sheriff’s deputies chased a car with stolen plates and arrested the driver.

Deputies with the San Carlos bureau of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office responded around 4:55 p.m. Friday to the Ross Stores parking lot at 1119 Industrial Road to find that windows had been smashed on four parked cars. Valuables left in plain sight, including laptops, handbags, backpacks and a purse, had been stolen.

The suspect had already gotten away and was last seen driving north on Industrial Road, according to the sheriff’s office. Then around 2 a.m. Saturday, Alameda County sheriff’s officials notified deputies in San Mateo County that the stolen property had been recovered after a pursuit involving a vehicle displaying stolen plates.

The vehicle crashed and Stacy Hawthorne, a 22-year-old San Francisco man, was taken into custody after a brief foot chase, San Mateo County sheriff’s spokeswoman Deputy Rebecca Rosenblatt said.

Hawthorne was taken into custody in Oakland and is set to be arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court Monday afternoon, according to jail records.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call Detective Jon Sebring at (650) 363-4057 or jsebring@smcgov.org. Anonymous tipsters can call (800) 547-2700.

San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies would like to remind the general public that most vehicle burglaries are crimes of opportunity, where the suspect sees valuables in plain sight and steals them. Deputies advise that valuable property kept within a vehicle should be hidden from view.

(Image via Shutterstock)