“Almost Famous” Not Good for Burglar

Santa Barbara – Apparently Jeffrey Allen Wojciechowski, 50, has been so effective as a burglar that his reputation precedes him…and his local notoriety has recently been his undoing.

Jeffrey Allen Wojciechowski

In the early morning hours of November 8^th, a 911 Emergency call emanating from Eco-Friendly Cleaners in downtown Santa Barbara brought Santa Barbara Police Department investigators to the scene of an obvious late-night burglary.  According to SBPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, Officer Mark Corbett’s investigation “revealed that the rear door of the business had been forcefully opened” and two of the business’s cash registers had been cleaned out to the tune of $85 currency.

The most important evidence obtained by Corbett, however, were a pair of video records taken by security cameras on the establishment’s premises.

A week later, on November 15^th, SBPD Property Crimes detectives conducted ongoing investigation into the burglary, at which time Detective John Ingram viewed the surveillance videos and immediately recognized a familiar face: Jeffrey Allen Wojciechowski.  At this time, Ingram asked another SBPD Officer to look at the video for purposes of confirming his identification.  As it happened, Officer Rick Cipres had just a month earlier arrested Wojciechowski on a probation violation charge, and confirmed Ingram’s identification of his suspect.  “This suspect is almost famous for this kind of burglary,” Harwood commented to the media.

No less than a day later, just after noon on November 16^th, Officer Cipres, working with other members of the SBPD Tactical Patrol Force Street Crimes Unit, observed Wojciechowski ambling down the State Street thoroughfare among tourists and seasonal shoppers.  A conversation with him ensued, whereupon he was arrested for the Eco-Friendly burglary.

Wojciechowski was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of felony burglary, where he is currently held on a no-bail detainer pursuant to multiple violations of probation.

Sometimes, when you’re just too good at what you do—even if it’s burglary—it’s hard to remain anonymous.

Read more:

KCLU: Man With Extensive Burlgary Record in Santa Barbara County Arrested for New Break-in

KSBY: Arrest Made in Commercial Burglary