The sheriff of Santa Cruz County, California, had some changes for a change Thursday: A suspect was arrested after the wallet of a firefighter was stolen.
The wallet belonged to a commander of the ground at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as Cal Fire, who was busy several days ago fighting the CZU Lightning Complex fires in a rural part of the province. .
The thief took the bank and credit cards and was reported to have emptied the bank accounts on Saturday, making several purchases of gift cards to spend elsewhere. One was for $ 1,400, said Sheriff Jim Hart.
Hart identified the suspect as Brian Johnson, 37, of Live Oak, who was arrested late Wednesday. The arrest was first reported by NBC Bay Area.
“The investigation team went to his house and conducted a probationary period because this man is on formal probation, and they found the clothes that were pictured in the video on our Facebook,” Hart said. “And they’ve rediscovered brands that were recently purchased.”
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According to the sheriff, Johnson admitted his wrongdoing and wrote an apology to the fire department. He was arrested on multiple crimes, including credit card theft. Hart said people from across the country were interested in the case, with some offers to cover the fire department’s losses.
“What’s important is that a person who came to help us became a victim, and it’s just not right,” he said. “And I will really plead to hold this man accountable.”
As of Thursday afternoon, CZU lightning complex fires had consumed 21 percent, according to Cal Fire.
The fire complex is one of a handful of large fires burning along the edge of the San Francisco Bay Area, two of which are considered the largest in the state’s history in terms of burned acres.
“We are seeing a lot of good progress on the fire. The weather has cooperated with us in some aspects as far as introducing our lines and extinguishing fire, and, in other aspects, kind of hindrance in terms of our air strike program. , “Chief Mark Brunton, a battalion commander for Cal Fire, said in an online briefing posted earlier Thursday.
