Moraga Burglary Suspect Arrested

Police have arrested a 21-year-old man they say stole jewelry from a Moraga woman while he was supposedly painting her home. 

Police last Thursday responded to a report of a suspicious man "walking slowly" on Larch Ave. near Wandel Dr. around 3 p.m. Police stopped and questioned Hector Mauricio Salazar, 21, of Pinole, who said he had been painting a nearby home. 

Salazar agreed to let officers search his lunchbox, where they found some jewelry. After his explanation failed to convince officers, they took the jewelry to the home he was painting. The elderly woman there identified it as hers, and said it went missing while she was out of the house. 

Salazar, who had been convicted of robbery in Alameda County last year, was arrested for suspicion of possession of stolen property, and burglary. On Monday the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office issued a criminal complaint against Salazar alleging felony violations of grand theft, possession of stolen property, and financial elder abuse. He is currently in custody in Contra Costa County.