A Sacramento man was tracked and arrested by the Folsom Police Department in connected with a string of local construction site heists adding up to more that $25,000 in stolen equipment and goods.
Over the last several weeks, there have been numerous reports of theft and burglary from construction sites in the development sites south of Highway 50, also known as Folsom Ranch. The spike in reports recently prompted the Folsom Police to deploy a GPS “bait” system.
“We deployed one of our items in the area, our officers got an alert that the “bait” items had been stolen,” explained the department as they shared the news on social media after the operation’s success.
After receiving an alert that the GPS tagged items has been removed, investigators went to work and found their suspect, as well as many more items associated with previously reported thefts in the city.
“Our officers tracked the device as it traveled westbound on Highway 50. The suspect vehicle was located and officers conducted a traffic stop. It was discovered that the suspect had been listening to police radio transmissions on a cellphone application and had ditched the “bait” item just before officers stopped them on the freeway,” reads the report. “We located the “bait” along the roadside and several other suspected stolen items were found inside the suspect’s vehicle. These items were valued at approximately $27,000. Our officers were later able confirm that the items located were in fact stolen from construction sites and are linked to at least two reported burglaries.”
Benjamin Ritter, 41 of Sacramento was apprehended and arrested was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on multiple theft charges as was as narcotic related charges.
