Following the theft of valuables from cars in Goleta’s Kellogg Avenue and Berkeley Road area on July 6, the police in Santa Paula arrested a man driving a stolen car, and containing the stolen property, on July 16.
Santa Barbara Sheriff’s detectives subsequently learned that William Carroll of Santa Paula had been dropped off in Goleta, and they believe he then staged a one-man crime spree, stealing property from seven cars he found unlocked. Carroll had gone from car to car, testing doors, opening many more than seven, said Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover, and took items as common as phone chargers, registration papers, and sunglasses to more costly ones like a digital camera, tools, and a guitar that had been left behind unsecured.
Carroll allegedly drove himself home in a car that had its keys in the center console. The property stolen exceeded $2,000 in value, and he’s in Ventura County Jail on auto theft charges and will face grand theft charges in Santa Barbara, Hoover said.