Officials report some looting cases in county

By: SARAH WILKINS - Staff Writer
DA vows vigorous prosecution of felonies | Saturday, October 27, 2007 1:13 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO COUNTY ---- As the smoke clears over what remains of houses damaged or destroyed by fire throughout the county this week, residents aren't the only ones sifting through rubble for valuables. There have been scattered reports of looting.

A total of 41 incidents of looting had been reported by Thursday afternoon, sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said. Arrests include Mexican citizen Pedro Cervantes in Jamul and U.S. citizen John Campos and Mexican national Noe Macias in Tecate, sheriff's officials said.

San Marcos sheriff's deputies and insurance fraud investigators also arrested two people Wednesday night suspected of looting in an evacuated area, Sgt. Charles Cinnamo said. No additional details were immediately available regarding that case.

Still, problems have been relatively few, Cinnamo said. "We have a lot of suspicious person calls, but everybody's kind of on edge."

People suspected of casing an evacuated Escondido neighborhood while in a stolen car were also arrested Wednesday, though no stolen property was found in the vehicle, Lt. Tom Albergo said.

In San Diego, 12 people ---- part of three families ---- were taken into custody Wednesday after allegedly stealing supplies from the shelter at Qualcomm Stadium, police spokeswoman Monica Munoz said. Six of the people were turned in to the Border Patrol because they were later found to be in the country illegally; a 2-year-old daughter who is a U.S. citizen was also with the family, Munoz said. The other five people have since been released, she said.

San Diego police also arrested five people on suspicion of illegally entering evacuated areas, and several of those suspects also reportedly resisted arrest, Munoz said.

On the coast, fewer problems were reported because more people were able to stay in their homes, law enforcement officials in Oceanside and Encinitas said.

"It's just that people didn't have to leave their homes here, they're not rebuilding," Oceanside police Sgt. Leonard Mata said.

During an emergency, looting is considered second-degree burglary, a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison. Evacuated areas remain under guard by local law enforcement and members of the National Guard.

The county district attorney's office reported this week that violators will be "vigorously prosecuted."

"The fires have victimized residents in our county once. We will not allow them to be victimized a second time by criminals without a conscience," District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said.

City News Service contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Sarah Wilkins at (760) 740-3524 or swilkins@nctimes.com.