Dyer said Foust admitted to 18 burglaries in Northeast and Northwest Fresno, while the other suspect, 34 year old Aaron Hamm, admitted to committing burglaries on a daily basis. Dyer said the break-ins date back to last November. The suspects targeted homes during the day and knocked on doors to make sure the residents weren't there. In the neighborhood Wednesday, residents expressed relief. "I'm just very thankful. Like I said, we were just nervous to be living in a place where people were targeting homes," said Annette Gause.
The suspects' crime spree ended Tuesday when officers caught Foust and Hamm in the act in the area of Yorktown and Plymouth in Northeast Fresno. Police said two officers fired nine rounds at the suspects after Foust tried to hit officers with a green BMW. They said the suspect reached speeds of up to 80 miles an hour before officers used a pursuit maneuver to get it to stop. Dyer said after their arrests, Hamm admitted to multiple break-ins. "Suspect Hamm told our detectives that he had been involved in committing resident burglaries on a daily basis. At least one residence a day," said Dyer.
Police said once the suspects were inside the homes, they grabbed gold jewelry and coins that could be sold quickly. Surveillance video from a home hit Monday shows a suspect running inside before turning to go upstairs. Police haven't positively identified that suspect but the viewer who shared it with Action News said she saw definite similarities between the suspect arrested Tuesday and the man seen in the video.
Chief Dyer said when the suspects were asked why they committed the crimes in the first place, Foust had a frank answer. "His answer was very short... because there's a lot of money to be made and there is no punishment," said Dyer. That perception of "no punishment" could be linked to the suspects' prior experience. Both have been charged with other crimes over the past few months but released because of overcrowding.
The suspects now face several felony charges and this time, the chief hopes they're serious enough that they'll be kept in jail. Though the police department believes the two men could be responsible for more than a hundred burglaries, they said how many they can be prosecuted for is another story.
