Four Ventura County residents were arrested last Thursday for allegedly committing a series of residential burglaries within the City of Santa Barbara and throughout Ventura. Two are known gang members.
According to authorities, property detectives had investigated the string of burglaries for the past several months. They eventually gathered information that 33-year-old Raphael Rincon was behind the heists, said police, a Ventura gang member previously deported as an illegal alien.
Rincon was under surveillance Thursday when he was arrested in Goleta near Dos Pueblos Ranch. Upon stopping his vehicle, detectives discovered that Rincon — along with three other accomplices in the car — had just robbed a house in the area. The four admitted they were on their way to commit more of the same crimes, police reported.
The other three arrested were: 33-year-old Tony Santiago, 23-year-old Linda Itza, and 38-year-old Frank Garcia. Santiago is also a known gang member. All four were booked into County Jail. Rincon was booked for residential burglary and his outstanding warrant, Santiago for residential burglary and accessory to burglary, and Itza for residential burglary. Garcia was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and ultimately released.
The Santa Barbara Police, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department, and the Ventura Sheriff’s Office are continuing the investigation to identify more victims.