Fresno police catch serial car burglar

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police said the streets are safer after they caught a serial car burglar targeting Northwest Fresno.

"It was so fast I couldn't believe it," said David Anthony, owner.

Anthony still watches surveillance footage in disbelief. "He just smashed the window, grabbed the backpack, and was gone."

After a burglar broke into one of his customer's cars in Northwest Fresno. "I was shocked at his stupidity, that he didn't even notice the camera right in his face," said Anthony.

Anthony decided to take a look at his surveillance tapes. Police said the man who committed the crime was 29-year-old Mark Munoz. A serial car burglar suspected of committing, at least, two dozen other heists. Almost always targeting women. "That was one of the things he always looked for. Women walking away from vehicles not carrying a purse or belongings, which he assumed that they left something in the car," said Chief Dyer, Fresno Police.

When police searched Munoz's getaway car they found purses, backpacks, and briefcases. They said his victims range all the way from Fresno to Merced. "It's one of those crimes that is endless, in terms of the impact that it has on a victim," said Dyer.

The number of related crimes has already declined in Northwest Fresno since his arrest. In the last 28 days, there were 65 vehicle burglaries. Compare that to the month before-- there were 123. "It's great, I 'm glad we could help put somebody behind bars," said Anthony.

And make the neighborhood a safer place "When you get an individual like this, Mark Munoz, off the street, you reduce victimization in your city very quickly," said Dyer.