Fourth Arrest Made in Series of Car Burglaries at East County Parks

Sheriff's detectives arrested a fourth suspect in a series of recent auto at East County San Diego open-space parks by tracking the global-positioning device in a stolen cell phone.

Authorities arrested Lakeside resident Jess Oliver "Peggo" Havens, 29, at a motel on East Main Street in El Cajon on Tuesday morning, sheriff's Sgt. Tom Poulin said.

He was entered into the county jail on charges of burglary, possession of burglary tools and identity theft with bail set at $105,000.

Beginning on March 26, thieves broke into three vehicles around Lakeside's El Capitan Open Space Preserve and break-ins have continued for two weeks at Blue Sky Canyon Ecological Reserve in Poway and in San Diego.

According to Poulin, the owners of the vehicles were burglarized of items such as wallets, purses and cell phones while hiking. Haven is alleged to have taken part in this series of burglaries. One cell phone, an , was equipped with GPS and aided in the arrest, according to Poulin.

After the break-ins were reported, the victim's stolen credit cards were used to buy goods at ten businesses throughout Santee and Lakeside, according to authorities.

The first arrests related to these crimes took place on April 4, when detectives arrested David Rodriguez, 20, and a 15-year-old girl at a home on Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside.

Rachelle Valdez, 23, was subsequently arrested at the 500 block of Chase Avenue in El Cajon and booked on theft related felony charges.

According to Poulin, detectives have recovered most of the goods bought with stolen credit cards and more arrests are expected.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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