Jesse Aldan
PALO ALTO — The Palo Alto Police made an arrest this week in what may have been a case of a serial car burglar in the area. A call was reported that an alert driver watched as 51-year-old Jesse Aldan of San Francisco broke into a car in the downtown Palo Alto area.
According to the PAPD, “On Saturday, April 29, 2017 at about 8:00 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call of an in-progress auto burglary on the 400 block of High Street.” The caller was able to describe the clothing and appearance of Aldan as officers began to scout the area for the suspect. Aldan was located riding a bicycle northbound on El Camino Real and was detained in the parking lot on El Camino Real at Roble Avenue in Menlo Park a short time later.
During the initial contact with the suspect, the witness described how they had watched Aldan throw debris at a car window in order to break into the unoccupied 2014 BMW sedan that had been parked on the 400 block of High Street.
According to the PAPD, “As the witness watched, the suspect reached into the broken window and removed a duffle bag from inside.” It was then that the witness of the car burglary followed the suspect as he rode his bike, exiting to turn along the street corner. It was there that he removed personal items from the bag to his liking, discarding other items as he rode away. The items, along with the duffel bag and purse, were picked up and given to police officers when they arrived.
PAPD reported that they had also located stolen items from the suspect’s pockets and backpack. The stolen items included earrings, sunglasses, reading glasses, and a credit card. Upon identifying the victim of the burglary, PAPD contacted the owner and returned all of the stolen property directly to her.
During the initial arrest, PAPD Officers determined the suspect was on parole stemming from a prior conviction of burglary in San Francisco. Other items found during a parole search of the suspect included methamphetamine, narcotics paraphernalia, and burglary tools. It was determined that Aldan was under the influence of narcotics at the time of his arrest.
Police booked Aldan into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for felony auto burglary and possession of stolen property. Aldan faces misdemeanor charges ranging from being under the influence of narcotics, and being in possession of narcotics, burglary tools, and narcotics paraphernalia. Aldan is ineligible for bail since he committed a felony crime while on parole.
Detectives are working to determine if the suspect may be connected to any other auto burglaries that have occurred in Palo Alto or surrounding cities.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.
