The suspected teenage burglar who evaded a police manhunt Thursday, only to return to the Sonoma crime scene after midnight to steal a car from the vandalized home, was found Friday in Santa Rosa.
Deputies pulled over the stolen vehicle and arrested Nathan Paul Wilson, 18 years old, of Rohnert Park.
“The circumstances surrounding the theft of the Audi sedan wasn’t a typical case,” reported Sgt. Michael Raasch.
It started at about 3 p.m. Thursday, when a resident living in the 400 block of Greve Lane returned home. When he opened up his automatic garage door, two young males ran out and down the street. They attempted to enter a green van parked nearby, but ultimately fled on foot.
The second suspect is a 15-year-old Sonoma boy who had been expelled from his Santa Rosa school that morning.
The homeowner said the suspects had stolen items from his house and loaded them into his Audi sedan, which was parked in his garage.
The Sonoma Police Department responded by setting up a perimeter within the area bordered by Lovall Valley Road, Fourth Street East, Gehricke Road and Brazil Street. Along with deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and the Sheriff’s helicopter, police conducted a lengthy search.
Officers went backyard to backyard, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum, but could not locate the two suspects.
But with a search of the green van, which itself had been reported stolen earlier that day in Santa Rosa, evidence was found to established the suspect’s identity.
Not known at the time was that the thieves had allegedly stolen a key to the victim’s burglarized home before running away.
Police said that about 1:00 a.m. Friday morning, after the search for them had been called off, the suspects returned to crime scene, entered the garage through the door they had broken earlier, and drove off in the Audi sedan. The homeowner had already emptied the car of loot from the thwarted burglary.
The stolen car was spotted Friday on Bennett Valley Road, and stopped on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa. Wilson was arrested. He was found with stolen credit cards belonging to a Rohnert Park resident.
Detectives learned that Wilson was fraudulently using the victim’s stolen credit cards at various retail shops in the Santa Rosa area.
Wilson was booked into the county jail for vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, two counts of residential burglary, possession of stolen property, theft by use of credit card, and driving on a suspended driver’s license. Bail was $80,000.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sal Borruso at 707.565.2185.
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