Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies arrested a security guard early Thursday morning for allegedly stealing sports memorabilia from a locked display case at Lakeview Junior High School in Orcutt.
Santa Maria resident Cameron Taylor, 21, was working an overnight assignment at the school when at approximately 12:10 a.m. deputies responded to an alarm in the gymnasium. They discovered that someone had broken into a display case and removed several items of baseball memorabilia signed by retired major league baseball player and current Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura.
The deputies couldn’t tell exactly how many items were missing but did find a few in a trash can next to the case. As they continued to search the school grounds, they were approached by Taylor. They asked to see his identification and walked with him to his car to retrieve it. As Taylor bent over to get his ID, the deputies spotted a baseball in his jacket. It was signed by Robin Ventura. They also found a piece of the display case’s lock in Taylor’s front pocket.
Taylor is booked in County Jail on charges of felony burglary and petty theft. His bail is set at $20,000.