Serial Burglar Busted: Riverside Police Nab Repeat Offender with Illegal Firearms
“In late April, two burglars crawled along the floor of an automotive business in the Northside neighborhood of Riverside, making off with tools and motor oil. Fast forward to July, the same dynamic duo appeared to have struck again, this time targeting a media business downtown and snagging office equipment and electronic devices. One of these burglars stood out by weighing at least 300 pounds.
In early August, our patrol officers responded to a possible burglary at a business in the Airport neighborhood but found no crime. However, they did identify the occupants of a car leaving the scene and passed the info along to detectives.
Our Property Crimes Detectives soon realized one of the car occupants was a dead ringer for the larger suspect from the earlier burglaries. So, bright and early this morning, detectives, with the help of the Problem Oriented Policing and METRO teams, knocked on the door of 44-year-old Ricardo Lujano’s home on 10th Street in the Eastside neighborhood with a search warrant.
Now, here’s a useful fact: Mr. Lujano, a convicted felon, clearly forgot he’s not allowed to have firearms. What did detectives find during their search today? A .22 caliber rifle, a 9mm short-barrel rifle (an assault weapon under California law, of course), and a sawed-off shotgun. Oh, and let’s not forget the evidence linking him to the burglaries.
Needless to say, Mr. Lujano’s day didn’t go as planned as he was arrested and booked into jail. ”
