A 29-year-old man suspected of breaking into a Santa Ana church with two others to pilfer a safe containing about $15,000 was taken into custody Friday. Daniel Cortes, who is believed to be the burglar who was wearing a White Sox cap in surveillance video from Forty Martyrs Armenian Church, was arrested after a short car chase, Santa Ana police said.
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Trio Believed to Have Taken Forty Martyrs Armenian Church Safe in Santa Ana
Santa Ana and Anaheim investigators, who are working together because Cortes' crew is suspected of pulling jobs extending back to at least January in both cities, had received a tip that led to the suspect, according to Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) Corporal Anthony Bertagna.
Some stolen goods have been recovered, the spokesman added. After the May 1 Forty Martyrs burglary, police had disclosed the safe's contents included $15,000 from the previous night's bingo proceeds.
Police are still seeking two men: a bald 40- to 45-year-old with a mustache and a medium build, and a thin, 35- to 40-year-old Hispanic with a goatee. Anyone with information is asked to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855.847.6227.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.