Buckeye police track down suspect in string of home, vehicle burglaries
Nov 8, 2019, 1:00 PM
(City of Buckeye Photo)
PHOENIX – A man wanted for a string of West Valley vehicle and home break-ins was arrested this week, authorities said.
Paul R. A. Tafoya, 23, was identified as a suspect last month but remained on the loose until Tuesday, when Buckeye police officers caught up to him, according to a city press release.
He was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on three counts of theft, three counts of third-degree burglary and one count each of second-degree burglary and resisting arrest.
On Oct. 25, police were called to investigate one home and multiple vehicle burglaries in the Sundance retirement community.
One victim had chased a suspect out of his garage and taken photos of the suspect’s vehicle, police said.
Police located the vehicle and saw Tafoya get out and run into a nearby home. Officers obtained a search warrant and found stolen property inside, but Tafoya was gone.
Police tracked him down Tuesday and saw him get into a car on the passenger side. When they stopped the car on Watson Road north of Interstate 10, Tafoya fled on foot and jumped a chain-link fence, police said.
Officers ran him down and took him into custody.
Police said he admitted to burglarizing more than a dozen vehicles Oct. 25.