Police theorized Suspect Learned about the Boat from Craigslist Ad
HOLLISTER—The Hollister Police Department arrested an Oakland man after he was caught in the act of trying to steal a boat that he had apparently seen in an ad on Craigslist. Police arrested 30-year-old Jesse Allen Day and charged him with vehicle theft.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, April 18, a concerned citizen decided to call police to report some suspicious activity. He stated to police that he saw two men walking around a boat, then around a van that was parked on Mariposa Court. Since he did not recognize the men as being from the area, he called police.
An alert neighbor on Mariposa Court spotted Day and another man around a boat which had been unhitched in the early morning hours before sunrise.
Police arrived shortly before three in the morning and discovered Day near the boat in question. Officers stated the Day told them “that he was there to help a friend tow the boat.” The other man that was associated with Day had left prior to police arrival.
A police investigation revealed that the boat was previously attached to a truck that was parked nearby. The two had been separated by the cutting of a lock. Police contacted the owner of the boat and confirmed that he did not sell the boat to anyone, nor did he give anyone permission to move the boat.
With Day already detained by police, they placed him under arrest and searched the van he arrived in, where they found a set of burglary tools. Police theorized that Day learned about the boat through a posting on Craigslist.
Day was transported to the San Benito County Jail where he was booked on charges of vehicle theft, grand theft and being in possession of burglary tools.
Records show Day was arrested in August of 2008 on charges of grand theft, possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest. He was arrested again in January and May of 2009 for possession of stolen property and probation violations. After a failure to appear in court charge, and a warrant in 2011, he was arrested for burglary in April of 2012, and attempted grand theft in November of that year. Details of those incidents were not available.
