Suspect in series of home burglaries in Palo Alto arrested; Additional suspects sought
A suspect in a series of residential burglaries in Palo Alto has been identified as a man already in custody for an unrelated offense and investigators are seeking other suspects, police said Tuesday.
Palo Alto Police said the burglaries happened between October 2022 and May 2023 and investigators said at least several of the cases involved between two and four suspects entering unoccupied homes between 7 and 9 p.m., often on Friday and Saturday nights.
Surveillance footage of the burglaries showed that the suspects appear to be Hispanic males in their twenties, typically wearing hooded sweatshirts, face coverings, and gloves, according to police.
In a press statement, police said detectives identified one of the suspects as 23-year-old Cesar Carmona of Santa Clara. On July 20, an arrest warrant was obtained charging Carmona with five felony counts of residential burglary.
Detectives later learned Carmona had been arrested for unrelated charges by the Santa Clara Police Department and was being held at the Santa Clara County Mail Jail. On July 25, police served the arrest warrant on Carmona at the jail.
Working along with the San Jose Police Department and the Fremont Police Department, detectives connected Carmona to three additional incidents in San Jose and one in Fremont. On Thursday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office charged Carmona with seven counts of burglary, four counts of attempted burglary, and four counts of vandalism.
Police said the investigation into the identity of additional outstanding suspects in the Palo Alto burglaries was ongoing. Carmona is also being looked at as a possible suspect in additional burglaries.
People with information about any of the burglaries were asked to call Palo Alto Police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
