Amador County – A man arrested June 14 for alleged vandalism at Kmart in Amador County may have connections to a burglary at the local Wal-Mart, as well as the Wal-Mart stores at 7 cities in the region, after a Sheriff’s Sergeant spotted a suspect Ford truck in Martell.

Amador County Sheriff’s Office in a release Tuesday said “Jerome Bruce Fletcher, 28, of Tracy was wanted on a felony larceny warrant in Manteca” and “Fletcher was the registered owner of the white Ford pickup. The other subject was not wanted.

“A search of the truck revealed a police radio frequency scanner, miscellaneous burglary tools, .22 caliber ammunition and marijuana,” the report said. “Fletcher was arrested and charged with possession of burglary tools, vandalism, conspiracy to commit a crime and being a felon in possession of ammunition. Fletcher was also arrested on the active felony larceny warrant.”

Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner in a release Tuesday gave details of the ongoing investigation, which began around 3 a.m. Tuesday, June 14. An “Amador County Sheriff’s Sergeant was patrolling the Martell area” and there had been “two recent burglaries of a locked storage area reported at Wal-Mart, wherein vehicle batteries had been stolen.”

Wegner said “a possible suspect vehicle, a white extended cab Ford pickup had been observed in the area at the time of one of the burglaries. This is consistent with multiple burglaries reported at Wal-Mart’s in Tracy, Stockton, Antioch, Pleasanton, Lodi, Folsom and Rancho Cordova. A white extended cab Ford pickup was also observed on surveillance video during some of these burglaries.

“As the Sheriff’s Sergeant pulled into the east entrance of the Kmart parking lot he observed a white Ford extended cab pickup with both doors open, parked near the front of the store,” Wegner said.

As the Sergeant “drove toward the vehicle, he observed two subjects quickly enter the truck.” The “Sergeant made contact with the two subjects,” who said “they had just stopped to buy a soda. A check of the vending machines revealed that one of the vending machine’s bill deposits had been forcefully pried and damaged. A portion of the damaged vending machine was found near the rear of the truck.”

Wegner said that “Amador County Sheriff’s Detectives are conducting follow-up investigation into Fletcher’s activities. Detectives have also sent fliers to regional law enforcement agencies regarding the arrest and they are working with Wal-Mart Asset Protection Investigators in relation to the string of burglaries.”

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