4 Chilean nationals arrested following Palo Alto home burglary
Palo Alto officers arrested four suspected burglars over the weekend after their victim allegedly caught them in the act remotely, according to police.
In a statement Monday, police said their officers were alerted to a report of an in-progress burglary at an unoccupied residence in the 2300 block of Byron Street around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said the house's resident, a woman in her 60s who was overseas, was notified by her home security system and was able to see multiple strangers breaking into her house.
When they arrived, officers saw three suspects running from the house and began jumping over fences to escape. Officers chased them and were soon able to stop and arrest the three nearby without incident.
As they searched the area following the arrests, officers found a black 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe parked near the victim's residence bearing a license plate that belonged to a Ford vehicle. Police said that as the officers investigated further, they found a fourth suspect, a 17-year-old juvenile, hiding on the backseat floorboard. He was taken into custody and the suspect vehicle was towed for evidence.
Investigators said the suspects forced their way inside the house by breaking open a glass door on a second-floor balcony. They allegedly ransacked two upstairs bedrooms and loaded personal property into two bags at the time police arrived.
Police said they recovered a flashlight at the scene and a window punch tool that one of the suspects threw away when they tried to flee. Another such tool was also allegedly found in the pocket of one of the suspects.
According to police, one of the suspects also was wearing two expensive wristwatches and had a woman's diamond ring in his sock that officers believe is stolen property. Investigators are looking into ownership of these items to determine if they were taken from the Byron Street house or somewhere else.
"Ownership of the Tahoe, as well as the license plate affixed to it, remains under investigation; neither the car nor the plate had been reported to police as stolen," police said.
The suspects reportedly told police they were visiting the U.S. from Chile, so none had local addresses of residence.
Two of them, identified as 23-year-old Christian Cerveracolan and 18-year-old Jorge Pacheco, were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for suspected residential burglary and conspiracy and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Pacheco was also booked on suspicion of misdemeanor possession of burglary tools.
The other two suspects were booked into jail for suspected residential burglary and conspiracy and two misdemeanors, resisting arrest, and possession of burglary tools. Due to their age, they were sent to the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can also be sent to paloalto@tipnow.org or (650) 383-8984.