FREMONT – A man suspected of burglarizing a number of schools throughout the Bay Area was taken into custody Monday, police said.
The investigation that led to the man’s arrest kicked off in early October after staff members at a Fremont elementary school reported a suspicious person walking around campus, according to the Fremont Police Department. When confronted by staff members, the man gave conflicting explanations for being on the property and departed.
School resource officers then started to receive reports of missing items from other schools, police said.
Officers identified the suspect and learned he was wanted for similar thefts at campuses in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Solano and Yolo counties, according to police.
Police said he targeted classrooms, stole credit cards from teachers and used them to make purchases.
The suspect, a Fairfield man, was arrested Monday in Walnut Creek while returning a rental car believed to have been used in one of the incidents, according to police.
Anyone with information related to the case or similar cases can contact the police department at 510-790-6900.