Dropped Cell Phone Leads to Burglary Arrest

A burglary suspect was quickly tracked down when investigators found his cell phone in the victim's home.

Police were called to the 26000 block of Talbot Street in Murrieta on July 24 by a homeowner who saw a young man scramble out of his garage as he returned home, according to an affidavit.

The homeowner opened his garage and was surprised to see the suspect racing out of the side garage door, Detective Jeff Ullrich stated in the affidavit.

The homeowner immediately called 911 and described what he saw. Ullrich and another officer searched for the suspect, but he slipped away, the report stated.

The officers went inside the house and found it ransacked. They also found several backpacks sitting on the living room floor filled with the homeowner's property.

A 9mm pistol, Sony camera, Wii game system and Nintendo DSI hand-held game system were missing from the home, according to the affidavit.

A bullet hole and a suspicious indentation in the master bedroom also caught an investigator's eye.

A mobile phone was discovered by the homeowner just inside the garage door where he had seen the suspect, and he gave it to the detectives.

After the cell phone was examined, they determined it belonged to a Temecula resident. His name is being withheld due to his age.

In addition to the burglary in Murrieta, the juvenile suspect was on probation for a narcotics violation in Texas, Ullrich wrote.

The victim picked the suspect out of a photo line-up, so detectives contacted the suspect's parents, who live in Temecula. They said they hadn’t seen him in several weeks, according to the document.

As detectives were conducting surveillance on the suspects home in Temecula, they received a phone call stating the suspect would be at McDonalds on Winchester Road. So, they went there and arrested him, Ullrich stated.

The suspect told detectives in an interview he entered the victim's home alone and located several electronics and a pistol.

While he was handling the weapon in the master bedroom, he didn’t realize the safety was off and shot a wall, court documents stated.

Then he heard the garage door open, got startled and ran out, Ullrich wrote in a report.

After fleeing from the scene, the suspect went to an acquaintence’s apartment in Murrieta and tried to sell the stolen gun and electronics.

Neighbors of the suspect's acquaintance told detectives they felt there was stolen property and drugs being sold out of the apartment based on the activity they routinely saw.