A search on Wednesday appeared to capture an armed prowler who is suspected in a string of 8 to 10 burglaries or attempted burglaries in the San Fernando Valley.
Law enforcement airships, officers on horseback and others combed the area, searching for hours for the man who has struck both commercial and residential sites in the Shadow Hills, Sun Valley and Sunland areas.
About 10:45 p.m., SWAT officers and a K-9 unit ensnared the suspect in an an area of dense brush. Video showed him being loaded into an ambulance a few minutes later.
The man, who is often seen with a rifle — sometimes a hunting rifle, other times an assault-style rifle — reportedly began this string of burglaries on Oct. 19.
He has been identified as 25-year-old Benjamin Renteria. He was booked on suspicion of felony burglary and his bail was set at $240,000, arrest records show.
Aside from the recent series of crimes, Sgt. Emil Brimway of the Burbank Police Department told KTLA his agency arrested Renteria back in June 2020 in connection with five separate burglary charges. In those cases, he allegedly broke into a parking garage and burglarized storage units and vehicles.