A Santa Paula was arrested in recent weeks for allegedly burglarizing a vehicle in the Malibu area and confessed to other similar thefts, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
David Michael Weinhardt Jr. of Santa Paula, who fit the description of a suspect in a June 22 car burglary at Zuma Beach, was arrested August 18.
The burglary was partially observed by a witness who told police they saw a man leaning into a vehicle’s rear passenger smashed window and noticed shattered glass on the ground. The witness then saw the male suspect take an orange backpack from the vehicle and hop into the passenger side of another vehicle. The vehicle sped away on Pacific Coast Highway.
The witness was able to provide investigators with a detailed description of the suspect, the suspect vehicle and a partial license plate. Detectives were able to identify the vehicle that fled and the registered owner who when contacted gave investigators further information regarding Weinhardt and the areas he frequented.
According to the report, Weinhardt was arrested without incident while detectives were conducting a surveillance of the area he was known to frequent. Weinhardt, according to the report, matched “the unique description of the suspect.”
Weinhardt allegedly admitted to the burglary, according to a report from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. He also allegedly admitted to several other burglaries that had occurred over a period of months, which LASD Detectives are investigating.
Weinhardt was booked at Malibu/Lost Hills Station for felony burglary and was subsequently released on bond.
