Burglars attempt to steal $24,000 worth of equipment from Salinas business

Three men were caught stealing more than $20,000 worth of construction equipment from a business in Salinas.

Salinas Police responded to Seatec Underground Utilities located at 467 Airport Boulevard around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

The owner of Seatec said his security alarm went off and that he was monitoring the burglary from a distance.

When officers arrived they spotted three men leaving in a white Chevrolet truck.

34-year-old Agustin Castillo, 48-year-old Arturo Rodriguez and 36-year-old Lilo Cortez had eight hand held earth compactors in the back of their truck.

Each compactor was valued at $3,000.

Seatec is an underground utilities company which primarily does excavation work.

Investigators said the suspects cut the fence behind the business to get in. They claimed to be from the Los Angeles area and had fake identification.

All three suspects had warrants and were booked into the Monterey County Jail.