One arrested, suspected of string of burglaries
A man deputies allege was seen on surveillance footage burglarizing a restaurant early Thursday morning is in custody and is now considered a primary suspect in other burglaries that occurred in recent weeks.
According to the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to two separate alarms early Thursday at Casa Ramos, located at 247 N. Humboldt Ave. in Willows. Deputies responded to the first call at 3:05 a.m. Upon arrival, they noticed an unlocked door but found no sign of theft. When responding to the second call approximately two hours later, deputies returned to find the restaurant had been burglarized.
After the Sheriff’s Office looked at surveillance footage, a deputy located a man matching the description of the one involved in the Casa Ramos burglary walking around a nearby apartment complex. Deputies say they identified that man as Andres Ortega, 25, of Willows, and allege he broke into the restaurant, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.
The Glenn Interagency Narcotics Task Force subsequently authored a search warrant to search Ortega’s
apartment. During the search, investigators said they found items from Casa Ramos and items that appeared to be taken from several other Willows-area burglaries within the last month. The items included webcams and laptop computers that were stolen from Murdock Elementary during a Jan. 29 burglary, as well as a firearm and hunting equipment that were reported stolen in a vehicle burglary that also occurred on Thursday.
The Sheriff’s Office said Ortega is also the primary suspect in a Jan. 29 burglary at the Glenn County Mosquito and Vector Control office in Willows, where two vehicles and other miscellaneous items were stolen.
The Sheriff’s Office said Ortega confessed to being involved in several of the aforementioned burglaries. Ortega was booked Thursday afternoon into the Glenn County Jail on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance. Ortega remains in custody with a bail amount set at $25,000.
The burglaries are still under investigation, and the Sheriff’s Office said it is still determining the total monetary loss recovered during the search of Ortega’s residence. Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office in person at 543 West Oak St., in Willows, or by phone at 934-6431.