Door-to-Door Burglar Arrested
January 8, 2012 – Goleta
An area alert was published on January 7th by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Drew Sugars describing the modus operandi involved in a series of bold daylight residential burglaries just north of the Santa Barbara city limits. A suspect description was broadcast indicating that a white male in his early twenties was posing as a door-to-door purveyor of magazine subscriptions. “Area neighbors describe the suspect as having identical tattoos on the inside of each elbow,” Sugars reported at the time in posting an official request for the public’s help in locating this individual.
Mathew Hensley, Door to Door Burglar
With that detailed description released through the media, that same afternoon the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a series of area residents reporting sightings of the individual described, including one detailing the appearance of a backyard prowler who, when alerted, fled the area by vaulting over a fence.
Immediately thereafter, on the afternoon of January 8th, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene of the prowler’s last sighting and conducted a thorough ground search of the area. Shortly thereafter, a patrol unit made contact with Mathew Hensley, 21, who identified himself with an Arkansas driver’s license. “He was residing at a Santa Maria motel,” Sugars detailed to the media, “and was attempting to sell magazines throughout the county.” It was quickly determined that Hensley had recently burglarized at least one home in the area, according to Sugars who further indicated that Hensley may have been involved in several more residential break-ins.
Hensley was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of felony residential burglary, and is currently held on $20,000 bail.
Photo: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
Read More:
keyt.com: Suspect Arrested In Goleta Residential Burglaries
Santa Barbara Independent: Public Alert and Citizen Tips Lead to Arrest
EdHat: Door to Door Salesman Arrested for Burglary
