Twenty-three-year-old Manuel Pacheo, suspected of a crime spree at commercial businesses in San Juan Bautista and on Fairview Road was arrested by San Benito County sheriff’s deputies on Sept. 12.
The city of San Juan Bautista had experienced a rash of commercial burglaries since Sept. 4, when two burglaries and two attempted burglaries occurred in the city. The first burglary occurred in the 200 block of 3rd Street and the other in the 200 block of 4th Street. There was an attempted burglary in the 300 block of 3rd Street and also in the 100 block of Nyland Drive. There were no suspects at the time of the reports.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 11, five commercial buildings were burglarized and there was one attempted burglary. Three of the completed burglaries were in the 200 block of Third, one in the 300 block and one in the 400 block. The attempt was also in the 400 block of Third. Deputies were able to obtain video evidence as well as fingerprints.
Due to the activity, deputies canvassed the area of San Juan Bautista in the early morning hours of Sept. 12. A commercial burglary was reported in the 6500 block of Fairview Rd. and deputies responded and confirmed a burglary had, in fact, occurred. They obtained video evidence that showed the same suspect as the night prior in San Juan Bautista. While investigating this burglary, deputies were alerted to yet another commercial burglary in the 200 block of 3rd Street in San Juan Bautista.
Deputies left Fairview and responded to San Juan, where they encountered a male subject walking alone, wearing the clothing from the videos. As they attempted to contact him, he fled on foot and was not located after an extensive search with the aid of the Sheriff’s K-9 and CHP officers. Deputies worked through the night and located the suspect’s vehicle in the area of the burglary The vehicle had items in plain view that were confirmed to have been stolen from the business on Fairview Road.
Deputies developed leads as to the suspect and completed a search of his home early in the morning of Sept. 12. Stolen items from the night prior were located in the home and Pacheco was taken into custody for the burglaries. A search of his car located additional items that link him to the crimes committed in San Juan Bautista and Fairview Road, the Sheriff’s Office said, nothing that the investigation is ongoing.