Deputies with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office have arrested two people responsible for vehicle burglaries. Marcos Bakle, 39, and Alfonso Gutierrez, 27, are being interviewed and will later get booked into the Fresno County Jail on felony charges.
Around 12:15 pm Tuesday, deputies responded to St. Peter’s Cemetery located at 264 N. Blythe Ave. in Fresno. Dispatchers had received reports of two men in a pickup breaking into parked vehicles. The owners of those vehicles were standing a short distance away, attending a funeral service. The suspects broke into an SUV, took a purse and then drove off the property. A short time later, the suspects returned and placed the purse back in the SUV. The suspects then began to look inside another vehicle, but chose to leave before committing another burglary. During this time, an observant guest of the service snapped a picture of the suspect’s vehicle. This photo proved to be valuable as it was given to deputies patrolling the area and they were able to locate the suspects near the intersection of Belmont and Brawley. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the pickup and took Marcos Bakle and Alfonso Gutierrez into custody.
Property crimes detectives searched the suspect’s pickup and found a punch device. Bakle and Guitierrez were using the tool to pop open the locks of vehicles, without creating any visible sign that the vehicle had been burglarized. Detectives determined cash was the only item taken from the purse.
On October 15th, the Sheriff’s Office received a report from a citizen that their vehicle was broken into while attending a funeral at Fresno Memorial Gardens located at 175 S. Cornelia. The suspects used a device to unlock a door and steal a purse. Management at St. Peter’s Cemetery says this this type of criminal activity has recently been a problem on their property prior to today. Detectives are trying to determine if Bakle and Gutierrez are connected to these burglaries or any other crimes.
Anyone with additional information on the suspects is asked to please contact the Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111 or call Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867).
