Macys, Kohls, Sears and Maurices. Police say 49 year old Bobby Sigala took clothing and other high end merchandise from these popular retailers last week in Visalia. Investigators believe he used no disguises or tricks.
"From what I understand he would just walk around the store, pick up items and just run out the store. Obviously the vehicle was waiting outside." said Sgt. Ozzie Dominguez.
The manager at Maurices says she actually ran into the suspect last Thursday just before closing time. She explained to us over the phone her encounter with Sigala that night.
"As I got about halfway to him, I saw that he walked up to the table where we have all the denim.. he stacked up about five stacks of jeans and walked right out." said Brittany Baffo.
Brittany Baffo claims to have lost nearly $700 worth of jeans that day. Visalia Police believe Sigala stole at least that much in merchandise each time if not more. In one instance they say he took $1500 worth of clothing and other expensive items.
Officers arrested Sigala Monday afternoon in Visalia after identifying the getaway car used in the burglaries. Baffo says one of her customers likely played a major role in finding him.
"She saw the license plate and she kept repeating it over and over and over until I had time to go grab a piece of paper and write it down." said Baffo.
Sigala is facing three counts of commercial burglary but additional charges may be filed. Police believe he acted alone in these crimes. As for the stolen merchandise, police won't say what he had planned to do with it. And we're told none of the stolen jeans from Maurices have been returned.
