Man arrested for burglarizing two homes in Palm Springs
Palm Springs police arrested a 33-year-old man from Desert Hot Springs early Monday morning in connection to two residential burglaries.
Officers said they responded to a home in the 400 block of Merito Place after someone reported a prowler at 4:30 a.m. Police didn’t find the suspect when they arrived but they found an unattended vehicle with a warm engine parked near the home.
They set up surveillance and about two hours later officers saw Wilfredo Cruz return to the vehicle. While talking to Cruz, officers saw an iPad inside the vehicle and were aware that several iPads had recently been stolen from a nearby residence, according to the release.
Officers said they searched the vehicle and found property that had been taken from a residence in the 600 block of High Road. They arrested Cruz for possession of stolen property.
During a follow up investigation, the Palm Springs Police Department determined Cruz was responsible for two residential burglaries in the city of Palm Springs.
Detectives searched Cruz’ Desert Hot Springs home and recovered stolen property including electronics, clothing and checkbooks valued at about $8,000.
Cruz was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. He’s facing felony charges of burglary and possession of stolen property, according to police.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call Detective Jiminez at 760-323-8129 or Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867.
