An Oxnard man was charged with felony grand theft and misdemeanor petty theft in Ventura County Superior Court on Sept. 18 for allegedly burglarizing food trucks earlier in the month.
The 41-year-old also faces several special allegations, including that he had prior convictions and that he carried out the crime with planning, sophistication or professionalism, according to court records. If found true, he faces the possibility of increased jail time during sentencing.
He did not enter a plea.
The charges stem from a Sept. 5 burglary at the Ventura County Commissary, a food truck lot in the 2500 block of Cortez Street in the unincorporated area of El Rio, according to a Ventura County Sheriff's Office news release.
Deputies from the sheriff’s office
responded to the commissary at about 4:30 a.m. and found that a man had entered the property and stole two generators, the sheriff's office said.
While investigating, they also found that he allegedly entered another food truck and stole cash, officials said.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage from the other food trucks at the lot and the surrounding area showing the man and the vehicle he used, sheriff’s officials said.
Detectives used automatic license plate reader cameras to identify the vehicle's license plate and identified the alleged burglar as the Oxnard man who had a history of theft-related offenses.
Sheriff’s detectives located the man Sept. 15 near the 2600 block of Saviers Road in Oxnard, driving the vehicle used during the burglary. Deputies pulled him over and arrested him.
Investigators conducted a warranted search of his vehicle and home and found evidence linking him to the thefts.
The Oxnard man was booked into Ventura County jail, but was released the next day on $10,000 bail, court records show. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 29.
The burglary was the second time the sheriff's office responded to the same lot within two days, but investigators found that the two burglaries were committed by two different people, sheriff’s officials said. The suspect in the first burglary remains at large.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard man charged with grand theft for food truck burglaries
