WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Police have arrested two men who allegedly burglarized a jewelry store, minutes after the same store was burglarized by a different suspect.
Jorge Garcia, 29, was arrested less than 24 hours after stealing from Fatima’s Fine Jewelry on the 300 block of Main Street early Sept. 26, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.
Silvano Martinez, 38, was arrested on West Lake Avenue at Rodriguez Street Wednesday afternoon.
Garcia and Martinez allegedly entered the store through a window that was broken during an earlier burglary.
Officers identified Garcia from surveillance footage of the burglary, and spotted him to blocks away in the CVS Pharmacy parking lot on Rodriguez Street shortly after 9 p.m. on Sept. 26, still in the same clothes he wore during the burglary.
The first suspect, who is still unidentified, was shown on video wearing heavy clothing, gloves, and a mask, throwing a large rock through a glass door to enter the store. Once inside, he again used rocks to smash display cases, Pulido said.
The man fled with an undisclosed amount of merchandise.
Garcia is also facing charges for a separate commercial burglary, which occurred at a restaurant on the 600 block of Main Street in mid-August.
Both men have been charged with commercial burglary and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Owner Franco Vaca said the burglary of his business was the second this year.
Anyone with information is asked to call WPD Det. Tyler Wildey at 768-3356.
