San Mateo Police Arrest Vehicle Burglary Suspect

Following the recent arrest of a transient in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries and two stolen vehicles, the San Mateo Police Department is offering safety tips to help prevent such crimes.

Erwin Bautista Favila, 32, was arrested last week on suspicion of the crimes, closing a chapter to a months-long investigation into the burglaries but also serving as a reminder of how common thefts from vehicles are in the Bay Area, San Mateo Police Sgt. Dave Norris said.

"Thefts from vehicles and window-smash auto burglaries continue to be a serious problem all over the Bay Area," San Mateo police said in a statement.

There was a cluster of thefts last week in a shopping center, and three separate window-smash thefts on Monday alone in San Mateo, according to Norris.

Intensive investigation and pursuit of these criminals, decoy and undercover operations, and hot-spot saturation patrols are being employed by SMPD to address this crime trend, but residents can help SMPD by being prepared and aware.

On Aug. 28, 2013, SMPD documented a number of vehicle burglaries that took place in Franklin Templeton Investments’ parking lot, located at Saratoga Avenue and David Street. 

One of the victim vehicles was moved, and another stolen during the commission of the crime. Available video evidence of a suspect lead in this case was captured on security cameras and provided to SMPD. The suspect in the case was described as having short hair with s “tail” in the back and tattoos on both arms.

SMPD Detectives were assigned to investigate this series of crimes, and on Aug. 30 responded to assist with the recovery of an unoccupied stolen vehicle from this case – a silver Honda.

Excellent witness information associated this stolen vehicle with suspected criminal activity and a dark-colored SUV that might be related.

Officers from SMPD’s Crime Reduction Unit later coordinated with San Francisco PD to recover an unoccupied dark-colored SUV on Sept. 7 that was stolen from San Mateo.

This SUV contained evidence linking it to the other cases, and generated information matching the description of Favila and ultimately pointing to him as an investigative lead.

Favila was ultimately identified in mid-November as the suspect in this case, and was located already in-custody on another case at San Mateo County Jail.

He was additionally booked at San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of the five vehicle burglaries from Aug. 28 and two counts of Vehicle Theft.

SAFETY TIPS FROM SAN MATEO POLICE:

These window-smash vehicle burglaries and overnight thefts from unlocked vehicles parked in neighborhoods are an all too common occurrence throughout the Bay Area. Most thefts from vehicles are crimes of opportunity. There are measures YOU can take to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of this type of crime:

• BE AWARE – Areas where many cars are parked in one place, like parking garages, crowded restaurants, shopping centers, and large retailers are target-rich environments for these bandits.
• BE AWARE – Another target-rich opportunity is presented by our many residential areas, containing streets lined with parked cars all night.
• CALL SMPD – We saturate these hotspots, but we cannot be everywhere at once. Call us about suspicious activity, and join a Neighborhood Watch to leverage your neighborhood resources and watch out for each other.
• ALWAYS lock your vehicle. Even if you are only leaving it for a few minutes. Opportunist criminals are checking first for unlocked cars – this is the easiest and quietest way for them to access your car.
• ALWAYS keep valuables out of sight. Criminals will be much less likely to break your vehicle window if there is nothing in plain view to steal. REMEMBER that these crooks will be watching as you park your cars, so stash your valuables out of sight BEFORE you park.   
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Again, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING – If you see ANY in-progress crime or suspicious activity, please contact the Police Department immediately via 911.

SMPD Dispatch Non-Emergency Number – 650-522-7700