Santa Cruz Police: Officers sneak up on burglary suspects to catch them
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Santa Cruz police said officers caught two suspected burglars by lying in wait and sneaking up on them.
Early Tursday morning, Valero Gas Station's window was smashed on the 1300 block of Ocean Street. Officers responded to the scene, but the suspects left when the store alarm went off.
Officers decided to pretend to leave the scene, but wait to see if the suspects would return. About 35 minutes later, the officers saw two men who they said looked suspicious. They said one of the men went into the building while the other acted as a lookout.
Police said one of the officers sneaked up on the men during a commercial burglary while one of them still had the ax used to break the door.
A 32-year-old transient, Kyle Rouston, was arrested and is facing charges that include possession of burglary tools, commercial burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. A 44-year-old transient, Andrew Fuller, ws also arrested. He is charged with conspiracy to commit a crime.
After the arrests, police said the officers helped the store clerk clean up the mess.