A concerted effort by the Mountain View Police Department to curtail auto burglaries led to last week’s arrest of three suspects accused of parking lot prowling.
Officers arrested the first two suspects Thursday (March 21) afternoon as they scouted the Computer History Museum parking lot on North Shoreline Boulevard, according to a department press release. Their names are being withheld during pending investigations involving other law enforcement agencies.
At approximately 1 p.m. Thursday, a police sergeant arriving at the museum for a meeting noticed a red Hyundai sedan matching the description of a vehicle connected to several burglaries in other jurisdictions, according to the release. The sergeant observed the Hyundai’s driver walk around the parking lot and then abruptly drive away. When officers stopped the Hyundai near the northbound Highway 101 entrance at Shoreline, they discovered a glass-breaking tool in the vehicle. They arrested the driver and the passenger on prowling charges.
In a separate case, Mountain View officers on patrol Friday night (March 22) arrested Modesto resident Rafael Alejandro Rodriguez, 28, on charges of prowling and tampering with a motor vehicle. At approximately 10:50 p.m., they watched Rodriguez pull into a parking space within a garage located in the 800 block of California Street and proceed to crawl between other parked vehicles, according to a department press release.
“While the man was crouched low to the ground, officers saw him look into windows and try door handles to see if anyone had left their vehicle unlocked,” according to the release.
Rodriguez was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.
The police department recently launched a campaign to help residents safeguard themselves from auto burglaries, an ongoing problem in the city. “Park Smart” urges drivers and passengers not to leave any valuables in parked vehicles – especially those left in shopping center, restaurant and movie theater parking lots and within parking garages, the most common targets.
In November, burglars broke into 19 vehicles parked in the Century Cinema 16 theater parking lot, located on Shoreline just across from the Computer History Museum. They stole electronics, personal documents and clothing, much of which was left in plain sight for any passerby to see.
Learn more about the Park Smart campaign by visiting the police department website.
