Crime & Safety
Albany Police Sleuthing in Home Burglary Leads to Arrest
Four days after a credit card theft in a home burglary, an Albany police detective who went to an El Sobrante store to view video of the stolen credit card being used spotted the suspect walking out the door, police said.
The arrest of an El Sobrante woman in connection with an Albany home burglary and credit-card ID theft is linked to the day when an Albany police detective went to a retail store to view video of suspected use of the stolen credit card, police said.
The burglary was reported to Albany police on July 18, according to a news release prepared by Detective Sgt. Art Pagsolingnan. The suspect, a 29-year-old El Sobrante woman, was a house guest at the time of the alleged theft, he said.
In an attempt "to get surveillance video of the fraudulent credit card use," an Albany detective on July 22 went to the El Sobrante store where the credit card had been used, the police release said. After he arrived, he observed the suspect "walking out of the same store to a car in the parking lot."
"Having done his homework, he was aware that (the suspect) had an outstanding arrest warrant in Contra Costa County," according to Pasoglingnan. "He briefly followed her to another nearby store, and then called for backup from local police, who arrested Taylor for the warrant."
The woman had two laptops with her when she was arrested and a "numerous notes and documents containing identification information belonging to other people," Pasoglingnan said.
The detective also discovered that the store video showed that the suspect had used the credit card stolen in Albany, he said.
After further investigation, Albany police wrote search warrants for the suspect's residence and two other locations, according to Pasoglingnan. On July 24, Albany police, assisted by Contra Costa County Sheriff's deputies and San Pablo police, served two warrants and recovered documents related to identity theft, a stolen rifle, a key to the victim's house and methamphetamine.
On the same day, they arrested the suspect at the West County jail in Richmond, where she was due to be released after her arrest six days earlier on the outstanding warrant, Pasoglingnan told Patch.
Police also arrested a 23-year-old man, who lives at the same El Sobrante address as the female, on suspicion of possessing amphetamine, Pasoglingnan said.
Both have been charged with burglary and identity theft in Alameda County, he said.
For other police-related news on Albany Patch, see our "Police and Fire" section.
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