Suspect Arrested In Connection With Pleasanton Crime Spree
PLEASANTON (CBS SF) -- A man from Santa Cruz County was arrested over the weekend in connection with a string of crimes committed in Pleasanton on Friday including burglary, arson, vandalism and carjacking, according to authorities.
On June 15th, Pleasanton police were called to to a series of crimes committed between 7 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the City of Pleasanton. The crimes began that Friday morning with a hit-and-run crash in the area of Stoneridge Drive and Willow Road where a Jeep Cherokee that was reportedly stolen from Placer County was found abandoned after colliding with several street signs.
Shortly after that crash, police received a call about a suspicious person in the area of W. Las Positas Boulevard and Willow Road. Construction workers in the area said a man passing by asked them if they wanted to purchase a rifle, though they noted that no rifle or weapon was seen.
A second suspicious person call in the area of Stanley Boulevard reported a man waving at passing cars. Shortly after that report, there was a burglary and house fire on Christina Court. Among the items missing from the home were a pair of kitchen knives, alcohol and a high school sweatshirt labeled with a name across the back.
Damage from the fire to the home was minimal, as the fire was quickly put out.
The robbery was followed by multiple reports of vandalism on the 3500 block of Bernal Avenue. A total of 12 vehicles in two different locations were reported to have their slashed tires.
After the reports on the tire slashing the suspect entered a local business in the area of Bernal Avenue and Tawny Drive and made threats with the two kitchen knives. The suspect then left the business, approached the carjacking victim and demanded the keys to his GMC pickup.
Police quickly determined that all of the crimes were committed by the same suspect after surveillance video from several sources showed the suspect slashing vehicle tires with kitchen knives while wearing the stolen high school sweatshirt. The suspect was wearing the same sweatshirt when he committed the carjacking.
On Friday afternoon at about 2:25 p.m., Pleasanton police received a call from Fremont police regarding a theft from a convenience store. The suspect was seen wearing the same stolen sweatshirt and using the stolen GMC truck.
The stolen truck was located in Santa Cruz County Saturday morning by deputies, who were then informed of the suspect's crime spree. The suspect, identified by police on Monday as 35-year-old Santa Cruz County resident Daniel Burns, later flagged down Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies and told them he had been pursued for several days by a motorcycle gang.
Burns was recognized as the suspect linked to the Pleasanton and Fremont crimes and was transported to Pleasanton, where he confessed to his crimes to Pleasanton police. Burns also told police where he had hidden a .22 caliber rifle after crashing the Jeep Cherokee Friday morning.
Burns was arrested and transported to Santa Rita County Jail on charges of carjacking, burglary, arson, vandalism, vehicle theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
