At about 1:07 p.m. on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 21, an alert citizen noticed a man acting strangely in a local shopping center parking lot.
The community-aware citizen called Vacaville Police dispatchers to inform them that the burglary suspect, who turned out to be Louis Gray, 22, of Vacaville, was methodically walking up and down the aisles in the parking lot adjacent to the Regency Park Plaza on Elmira Road. He was observed looking into parked cars.
Being well aware of a rash of recent car burglaries in the area, police officers arrived on the scene “within one minute,” according to a Vacaville Police press release. By the time they arrived, Gray was in the middle of forcing his way into a parked car. During his arrest, he was found to be in possession of burglary tools.
Gray was seen checking out cars at the Regency Park Plaza.
Gray has been a frequent “customer” of the local police. On September 10 he was arrested by Vacaville Police on possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, burglary, and failure to appear in court on a previous felony. On March 22 he had been arrested by Vacaville PD on burglary and petty theft charges, and in December of 2013 he was charged by Dixon Police with petty theft and vandalism. He was also charged with vandalism and conspiracy, meaning he worked with a friend, back in June of 2012.
Vacaville Police acknowledged the efforts of the citizen who reported the crime in progress in its press release: “Had it not been for the citizen being alert to his surroundings and his willingness to report criminal activity, this arrest would not have been possible.”
