Visalia police probe if 3 burglary suspects tied to other crimes

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Three men have been arrested in Visalia after police say they were caught stealing items from a property. Officers are now investigating if the suspects are connected to any of several other recent burglaries in the area.

In the middle of Thursday morning, Visalia police were called to the 800 block of South Court Street. Someone saw three men breaking into the garage behind their home and taking stuff out.

"Patrol officers responded immediately and were able to locate one suspect who was leaving the area on a bicycle," said Sgt. Amy Watkins of the Visalia Police Department.

Watkins says another suspect was seen entering a nearby house. That's where police went, waiting for the suspect to come out. They served a warrant, forcing their way in.

"We were able to recover the property that he removed from the victim's residence as well," said Watkins.

A third suspect was arrested at his home with more stolen property. Jeffrey Peterson, 55, Dwayne Williams, 48, and Randy Mansfield, 61, were all booked into the Tulare County Detention Center on burglary charges. Police aren't sure if this is the only time these three have committed a crime.

"There was some other items located inside the residence which we could not prove were stolen at the time," said Watkins.

Police say you should keep a list of serial numbers for items in your home in case anything is ever taken.

"Hopefully this doesn't happen, but if it does happen we have those serial numbers and we can track this property," said Watkins.

Watkins says there have been other break-ins in the area lately. People living in the neighborhood also say they've seen an increase in crime.

"With the drug use around here, it's really bad," said Gloria Alvarado of Visalia.

Police hope with these arrests they've put a stop to some of the problems. Police say items like generators, tools, and televisions are targets for thieves because they can quickly sell them.