Lompoc man charged with burglarizing home under fumigation
A 23-year-old Lompoc resident is facing criminal charges after authorities say he broke into a home being fumigated for termites, and stole priceless possessions as well as several firearms and ammunition.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says Geovanny Carbajal-Vera, 23, stole a “large amount of jewelry and irreplaceable, sentimental items [that included] wedding rings that belonged to one of the resident’s deceased family members taken directly off an urn that contained their ashes.”
Investigators believe the crime occurred on February 28 between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 1st. It wasn’t until that morning when fumigation company employees showed up to remove the tents and noticed the home had been burglarized.
Detectives gathered enough physical evidence to arrest Carbajal-Vera at his Lompoc home on March 20 in connection to the crime. Authorities recovered several items from the burglary but were unable to recover the jewelry or firearms. They believe more suspects may be involved in this case.
Carbajal-Vera was booked at Santa Barbara County Jail for residential burglary in addition to two outstanding warrants. The Sheriff’s Office says Carbajal-Vera was also on probation.
Anyone with any information about this crime or the whereabouts of the stolen property, is asked to call the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Bureau at 805-934-6170. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call 805-681-4171.
