Santa Barbara County – One of the greatest mistakes criminals continue to make is simply repeating their crime until they’re finally apprehended by law enforcement. As if getting away with one burglary—or even two—wasn’t enough for him, Angel Govea, identified by Lompoc Police Department detectives as an area transient, was first involved in knocking off Kimberly Nails, a local manicure salon within the city, and then proceeded to burglarize the Washtime Laundromat not far from the scene of the first burglary, and PJ’s Deli, also on the same block.
According to Lompoc PD spokesman Corporal Scott Morgan, 50-year-old Cecil Smith and 35-year-old Wendy Pronto were arrested on June 3rd when they were found in possession of stolen property traced to the burglaries, which included a pair of athletic shoes autographed by none other than NBA Lakers basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, one of the items reported missing from the deli burglary.
At that time, however, there had been no identification of Govea as a possible third suspect…until exactly one month after the earlier two arrests, when 33-year-old Govea was contacted by police on July 3rd pursuant to a handful of outstanding warrants. Faced with the presumably penetrating questioning of Morgan and others, Govea is reported to have confessed to the participation in the commission of the three commercial burglaries. According to Morgan, “a majority of the stolen items, mostly cash, were not recovered,” but that did not prevent Govea’s arrest and booking at Santa Barbara County Jail on multiple burglary charges, with his bail set at $60,000.
Photo: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
