The San Ramon Police Department announced the arrest of an Antioch man on Monday in connection with recent burglaries and was in a stolen vehicle.
San Ramon police say that recently, property thefts from vehicles throughout the San Ramon Valley have increased. In response, the department has been conducting increased patrols of areas impacted by these thefts.
Monday night, during one of these proactive patrols, a San Ramon Officer observed an individual associated with a stolen vehicle parked in the parking lot of a Fitness Center in the 4400 block of Norris Canyon Road.
The driver of the vehicle, Lawrence Phipps (a 22-year-old resident of Antioch), was contacted and Officers determined he was on probation for a previous conviction of California Vehicle Code 10851 (Vehicle Theft). Phipps arrested for violations of California Vehicle Code 10851, Penal Code 496 (Possession of Stolen Property), Penal Code 466 (Possession of Burglary Tools), and Penal Code 1203.2 (Violation of Probation). Following his arrest, Phipps was booked into the County Jail in Martinez.
Police say they will continue to conduct increased patrols in an effort to proactively combat these thefts and ensure the safety of the San Ramon Community. They encourage the community to help do their part as in almost every recently reported theft, the victim left their property in plain view inside their vehicle.
They remind residents it only takes a few seconds for a criminal to break a window, reach inside to grab your property, and be gone. Do not give a criminal the opportunity they are looking for. Protect your property and take it with you!
