Homeowner Was Awakened By Suspects
Santa Cruz was able to get four burglary suspects off the street thanks to an alert citizen and a diligent police officer. Santa Cruz Police were able to arrest 22-year-old resident Sergio Moro and his accomplice, another Santa Cruz resident 20-year-old Tahja Birney, and two 17-year-old Santa Cruz juveniles in the early morning hours of Friday, October 31.
A Santa Cruz homeowner was awakened by, not his alarm, but the sounds of four suspects breaking into his vehicle parked on Pelton Avenue. He called the police and gave a good description of the suspects and their getaway vehicle, a minivan.
Santa Cruz Police Officer Denise Cockrum responded to the call and was able to catch up to the getaway vehicle that was trying to flee the area. Officer Cockrum was able to perform a vehicle stop and contact all four suspects.
Sergio Moro and Tahja Birney in an image from Facebook.
The victim was contacted and was able to identify two of the suspects as have been in the vehicle. “When asked who claimed the property that we knew was stolen,” A Santa Cruz Police Spokesperson wrote, “Mr. Sergio Moro was kind enough to tell us the victim’s property was his.”
The driver of the getaway vehicle was Tahja Birney; a search of her person found that she was in possession of several ounces of marijuana, and prescription muscle relaxers. The problem was that she did not have a prescription for the medication.
Also in the vehicle were two 17-year-old juveniles from the City of Watsonville. One of the juveniles was identified as a gang member who had a warrant for his arrest. The other had a warrant for his arrest from juvenile court for cutting off his monitoring bracelet.
Both adults were transported and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail. Moro was booked on conspiracy to commit a crime, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of stolen property. Birney was booked on conspiracy to commit a crime, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of prescription medication without a prescription.
