CARLSBAD, Calif. - A parolee was back behind bars Thursday after allegedly taking tools from a Carlsbad hotel and showing up for an appointment with his parole officer with the stolen goods still in the truck used during the burglary, authorities said.
An employee of the hotel in the 2700 block of Ocean Street called police Wednesday morning to report the crime, during which tools were taken from a storage room, according to a Carlsbad police statement. The break-in was caught on surveillance video.
A responding officer saw footage of a man -- later identified as 54-year-old Andrew Horacio Chavez of Spring Valley -- back a truck with clearly visible license plates up to the storage room, break open the door and take the tools, police said.
Police identified Chavez using the license plate number and subsequently called his parole officer, who told them Chavez was scheduled to check in with him that day, according to the police statement.
Chavez arrived while police were still on the phone with the parole officer and was immediately detained. Police officers sent to take Chavez into custody quickly realized he had driven the truck used in the burglary to meet his parole officer and the stolen property was still inside, police said.
Chavez was arrested on suspicion of burglary and has since been booked into jail. The hotel got its tools back by early Wednesday evening, according to the police statement.
