Watsonville Suspect Left Evidence Behind That Aided in His Capture
Evidence Shows That Suspects Cased The Place Days Earlier
APTOS—Investigators with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office arrested a 37-year-old Watsonville man after evidence showed that he was involved in a burglary at the Seascape Village in Aptos. Arrested on January 15 was Robert Richie, who at the time of his arrest was at a home in Santa Cruz. (Arrest reports show his actual residence in either Watsonville or Morgan Hill.)
Seascape Village in Aptos
On January 6, deputies responded to a report of a burglary at the Holcomb Corporation at the Seascape Village in Aptos. Once they arrived they found $10,000.00 dollars worth of checks had been stolen, along with electronic equipment.
Deputies also discovered that other business in the complex showed signs of forced entry. Deputies also discovered at the Village a set of keys belonging to a Chevy Camaro that had been stolen from a dealership in Watsonville.
Surveillance tape that was provided by a shop owner at Seascape Village showed a white male between the ages of 25-to-35 wearing a dark blue or greyish hoodie, and dark grey or black pants walking through the shopping center late the previous night.
Less than a mile from the incident at the Village, the California Highway Patrol responded to a hit and run accident. The CHP had recovered the Camaro stolen from Watsonville, but the driver had fled the scene. The key piece of evidence against Richie is that the keys the deputies found at the burglary belonged to the stolen Camaro. Santa Cruz County Criminalist identified the fingerprints from both the burglary and the Camaro of those of Richie. He was also identified from surveillance footage from the auto dealership.
On January 15, Santa Cruz County Authorities were able to arrest Richie at a home on the 800 block of Park Way in Santa Cruz. He was booked in the Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of felony burglary, auto theft and hit and run. His bail has been set at $25,000.00 dollars.
Richie had been arrested in October of last year on charges of being under the influence and possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, reckless driving and driving with a suspended licence. In July he had also been charged with being under the influence and possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, along with a probation violation. Records from 2012 show an arrest for forgery and stolen ATM card, and burglary. Other records going back to 2006 show multiple arrests for burglary, driving with a suspended license, vehicle theft, stalking, and domestic violence.
