Police arrest seven after resident calls in burglary attempt
Suspects flee in SUV, but authorities had license plate number
MILPITAS — A resident’s quick thinking helped Milpitas police arrest seven youths on suspicion of attempted burglary, authorities said.
About 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, the resident on Whitcomb Court returned home to find two men coming out of the home’s side yard. The suspects fled in a sport utility vehicle driven by a woman later identified by police as Theresa Prada, 19, of San Jose.
The resident immediately called 911 and provided six digits of the SUV’s license plate number, police said. Based on that information, an officer spotted the black SUV on Interstate 680 a few minutes later and followed it until backup arrived. Police pulled the vehicle over in the Town Center shopping center on East Calaveras Boulevard.
The front passenger, later identified by police as 22-year-old Jeremiah Darrell McLeod, of San Jose, and a male juvenile passenger ran from the SUV but were arrested after a brief pursuit. Prada, a passenger later identified as 22-year-old Dwane Ricks, of Campbell, and three male juvenile passengers didn’t flee and were taken into custody, according to police.
When surveying the home, officers discovered that a window screen had been removed and a screen for the rear sliding glass door had been opened.
McLeod had active arrest warrants from the San Jose State University Police Department and the Santa Clara County Adult Probation Department, authorities said. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, resisting arrests and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Ricks is on probation in Santa Clara County, authorities said. He and Prada were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The four juvenile males were booked into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of attempted burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary. The 14-year-old boy who ran from the SUV was also booked on a charge of resisting arrest.