A pre-dawn break-in at a Hess Hill construction site in American Canyon turned into a two-city police drama early Thursday, ending with one getaway car stuck in marshland along Highway 37, another ditched in Oakland, and roughly $90,000 in stolen tools and equipment recovered. Two suspects were arrested and booked into county custody, and at least one more person is still on the run.
How the pursuit unfolded
According to KTVU, thieves hit the Hess Hill jobsite before sunrise and took off in two separate vehicles, triggering simultaneous police pursuits. One car left Highway 37 and ended up in nearby marshland, while officers trailed the second vehicle through Vallejo and on toward Oakland. Authorities later said they recovered an estimated $90,000 in stolen tools and equipment from the two vehicles.
Arrests, suspects and charges
In a post on the American Canyon Police Department’s Facebook page, officers said security personnel monitoring live video spotted suspects breaking into connex boxes at the construction site, then relayed vehicle descriptions that helped track the fleeing cars.
Police identified 27-year-old Laritza Valencia as the person found hiding in the marsh, with help from the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, and arrested her at the scene. Officers said 32-year-old Pedro Madrigal was later located hiding in the yard of an unrelated residence in Oakland after the second vehicle was abandoned on Plymouth Street near 98th Avenue.
Both Valencia and Madrigal were booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections on counts that include felony evading, burglary and possession of stolen property. Investigators say at least one other occupant of the first vehicle remains at large.
Why this matters locally
The brazen construction site break-in and cross-jurisdiction chase arrive amid a year of rising concern over property crimes and jobsite thefts in American Canyon. Local outlets previously reported a spree of vehicle break-ins and urged residents to review home and business surveillance, which can be key to cracking these cases. For earlier coverage of that trend, see reporting from KPIX/CBS Bay Area…