What suspect in vehicle burglary overlooked got him caught

A Manteca vehicle burglary was undone because items stolen were GPS-enabled, allowing police to locate the suspect.

The break-in occurred Tuesday in the parking lot of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store just off Highway 120. The victim is a wedding photographer, who reported several electronics stolen from the vehicle. Stored in pieces of the equipment were photographs from two recent weddings, which had not yet been provided to the newlyweds, Manteca police said in a Facebook post.

Because some of the stolen items had been enabled for GPS, one was tracked to a residence in north Stockton, and the Stockton Police Department was notified.

Wednesday, as the Stockton PD Gang Violence Suppression Unit and AB109 Task Force continued the investigation, 22-year-old Johann Serrano was pulled over in the area of Hammer Lane and Alexandria Place. He had with him some of the stolen items, police say.

A search of Serrano’s residence turned up more items from the burglary, along with two shotguns. One of the shotguns was sawed off. Serrano was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property and booked into the San Joaquin County Jail.

MPD detectives learned from the photographer Thursday that the wedding photographs still were on a stolen computer and hard drive, so were recovered.

This story was originally published February 9, 2018 at 1:40 PM with the headline "What suspect in vehicle burglary overlooked got him caught."