VENTURA COUNTY — The popular image of the burglar who breaks into houses and purloins jewelry, cash, computers, and other easy-to-carry personal items usually portrays a guy slinking around in the dark of night wearing a bandana-mask that conceals his face from view.
That may be the stuff of comic books, but it’s a far cry from the truth, as evidenced by the activities of a brazen daylight crook plying his trade on July 14th on a quiet Moorpark residential street.
It was in the early afternoon on that fine summer day when homeowners arrived at their house to find a strange vehicle parked in their driveway.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Darin Hendren, “the victims’ garage door was also open,” whereupon the homeowners entered their house to discover 27-year-old Santa Barbara resident Ricardo Gomez standing in the living room, obviously in the act of burglarizing the place.
Remarkably self-possessed, one of the victims “physically detained” Gomez while the other immediately called 911 to report the crime.
One can only imagine the ensuing conversation between Gomez and his victims as they awaited the arrival of deputies responding form the Moorpark Police Station. Once on the scene, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies and Moorpark Police Department officers promptly took Gomez into custody.
An investigation into the circumstanced immediately followed, which indicated that Gomez had entered the home through the open garage door. When he was confronted by his victims, Gomez “was in possession of several items belonging to the victims,” as well as “a small amount of narcotics.”
Gomez was transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on charges of burglary and possession of a controlled substance.
