YMCA clients targeted by burglars

 

A string of car burglaries at the Santa Ynez YMCA is leaving gym members to question their safety and the security of their belongings.

One particular incident has shocked the valley community and led one victim to post signs and hand out flyers informing people about the recent burglaries and warning them of the dangers.

“I think it’s important that people know the extent of the burglaries,” said Kim Brown, whose purse was stolen from the backseat of her locked car March 5.

 

“When I heard about people taking things out of cars at the Y, I thought it was just kids…but now I know that the police and the Y believe that this is a ring…I realized it’s on a larger scale.

“I think it’s much more dangerous than what people are being told,” she added.

Brown discovered her purse was missing after a workout at the gym. She notified YMCA employees and called police.

While giving her statement to the police, she realized that all of her personal information, including credit cards, debit cards, identification and house and car keys were in her purse.

A YMCA employee offered to take her home so she could cancel her credit cards and make arrangements to have her locks changed, but when Brown arrived at her house, she found an unknown car in her driveway, a blue 2006 Kia, with someone sitting in the driver’s seat.

As she walked past the car and approached her house, a Hispanic woman in her mid-30s with frizzy, dyed dark red hair, came around the house, Brown said.

“When I asked her why she was at my house, she told me she was looking for someone who used to live there,” Brown said.

Brown ordered the woman and the other person in the car to stay put while she called the police, but the woman hopped into the car and the driver steered around the YMCA employee’s car, which was blocking the driveway, and sped away.

The YMCA employee gave chase, but to no avail.

 

The suspects got away, but threw Brown’s purse into the street.

“I feel like no place is safe,” Brown said. “The idea that someone may be casing and watching you, then following you and going to your house is just scary.”

By the time police arrived, the Kia was out of sight. The Sheriff’s department then sent out patrols to look for the vehicle but could not locate it.

Lt. Phil Willis said he waited alongside the highway checking each vehicle that passed, but the Kia didn’t pass.

“We even checked the license plate number and searched for affiliates that may live in the valley, but we found none,” he said.

Solvang Sheriff’s detectives are in the process of filing a complaint with the District Attorney’s Office against Yvonne Trujillo, 40, from Ventura, after she reportedly admitted to being the perpetrator in the Brown case.

 

Trujillo was arrested March 18 for burglary and theft in a similar incident that took place at the Spectrum Sports Club at 3908 State St. in Santa Barbara.

“She was the same person we were looking at,” said Detective Christopher Dallenbach, of the Solvang Sheriff’s Station.

He added that the second suspect has not been identified, but Trujillo claims the other person was just along for the ride. According to authorities, Trujillo only admitted to the Brown burglary. The other burglaries are still under investigation pending the development of leads.

The Santa Ynez YMCA has hired a temporary private security guard and posted a small sign at the gym entrance.