SAN DIEGO -- A 34-year-old man is behind bars for allegedly breaking into seven southeastern San Diego homes tented for fumigation in as many months.
Salvador Amador Padilla was arrested last week and has since been booked into jail on suspicion of burglary, attempted burglary, possession of a controlled substance and possession of burglary tools, according to San Diego police and jail records.
Police said they were alerted to Padilla after he attempted to break into a tented home Feb. 9. Investigators later linked him to at least six similar cases between July and this month, according to a San Diego police statement.
A search of Padilla's residence turned up items believed to have been taken from the tented homes, according to the police statement. Some victims have come forward to claim their property, but authorities have yet to identify the owners of other items recovered during the search, police said.
There have been other fumigation burglaries in San Diego County in recent weeks.
On Feb. 10, a man in Santee discovered that his home had been broken into and items stolen during a fumigation for termites.
That same week burglars also hit a condo complex under fumigation in Coronado.