Police arrested a regular customer after the homeless man was seen allegedly snatching a package off the front porch of a local residence.
According to SLOPD Sgt. Chad Pfarr, at 11:33 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23, police were called about a man who had just stolen a package off the front porch of a home in the 2100 block of Harris St.
“The victim was able to provide a description of the suspect to officers who began searching the surrounding area,” Sgt. Pfarr said in a news release. “About 45 minutes later, an officer was on Prado Road near South Higuera and located a subject matching the description of the suspect.”
The man, identified as Billy Huerta, 50 and a local transient, is well-known to police, said Sgt. Pfarr. Allegedly, Huerta, “was still in possession of the package he had stolen from the front porch on Harris.”
He also had a beige, Felt MP, beach cruiser-style bicycle, which police correctly suspected was stolen too. “Huerta,” Sgt. Pfarr said, “admitted to taking the bicycle but did not provide any further details about where or when the bike was taken.”
However, he added, that as of Dec. 24, the bicycle had not been reported stolen to their agency, so police are asking the public for help.
“If you know where the bicycle came from,” Sgt. Pfarr said, “please contact the Police Department with that information.”
Meanwhile, Huerta was hauled to the gaol on suspicion of possessing stolen property and “misappropriation of found property,” as police apparently can’t confirm that the bike was stolen, the word of a suspected thief no doubt unreliable.
The package theft is potentially part of a larger crime spree. “The City has seen an increase in mail and package thefts when those items are left by delivery drivers and not immediately retrieved by their intended recipient,” Sgt. Pfarr said. “Thieves take advantage of the increased number of packages being delivered during the Christmas season.”
To protect yourself, police encourage everyone “to have items delivered to locations where they can be retrieved as soon as possible.”
Call SLOPD at (805) 781-7312 or Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-STOP with information about this crime.
