Burglary Suspect, 32, Arrested After Pursuit in Vista

A suspected burglar was arrested after he tried to escape from sheriff’s deputies in Vista and was eventually captured in nearby San Marcos, authorities said Thursday.

The suspect, Jose Rivera, 32, was arrested after leading deputies on a chase from the scene of a commercial burglary, said Sgt. Alfred Gathings of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies from the Vista Sheriff’s Station were called at 1 a.m. Wednesday to the 1300 Block of Specialty Drive regarding a commercial burglary in progress. The owner of the business told sheriff’s dispatchers that the suspected burglar was being observed on surveillance cameras and seconds before deputies arrived, the burglar drove away in a car and soon a pursuit began, Gathings said.

During the pursuit, several of the stolen items fell out of the car and damaged the pursuing deputies cars, according to authorities. The suspect abandoned the car near the intersection of Kensington Drive and Ninth Street and ran into San Marcos. With assistance from a Sheriff’s K-9 unit and aerial unit, he was found hiding in the back of a truck.

No deputies were injured during the pursuit and the stolen property, estimated to be worth about $5,000, was recovered and returned to the owner, said Gathings.

Rivera, who was identified as the burglar on the cameras, was later booked into the Vista Detention Facility for commercial burglary, evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for public safety and obstructing/resisting a peace officer.

–City News Service