Pleasanton man arrested in multiple Bay Area smash-and-grab burglaries

Police arrested a suspect in a recent smash-and-grab burglary spree in the city and in a series of burglaries in other Bay Area cities.

Before dawn on September 10, at least 18 businesses in different areas of Pleasanton were broken into and ransacked by multiple suspects, who fled in a sedan with no license plates. Officers located the vehicle and chased it on Stanley Boulevard but ended the pursuit just west of Isabel Avenue/Highway 84.

The Pleasanton Police Department said in press release on Tuesday that multiple suspects are believed to be responsible for similar crime sprees in at least three counties in recent weeks. Detectives working with other neighboring law enforcement agencies investigating the burglaries identified a 19-year-old Pleasanton resident, Juan Luis Valdez-Luevano, as one of the suspects.

On Sept. 16, officers from Pleasanton and neighboring agencies served a search warrant at Valdez-Luevano's home on Vineyard Avenue, while detectives from the San Ramon Police Department and Dublin Police Services arrested him in Dublin on a warrant out of Contra Costa County, police said.

Valdez-Luevano was booked in Contra Costa County on multiple burglary charges and was expected to be transferred to Alameda County where charges are being sought in connection with the September 10 burglaries, police said.

The department said it was still working with neighboring agencies to identify other suspects in the series of burglaries which were also reported in Danville and San Ramon. Anyone with information about the burglaries was asked to contact the Pleasanton Police Department at 925-931-5269.