By Bay City News Service
A Martinez man with a history of theft arrests allegedly struck again in Hercules, where he was caught in a stolen car with stolen mail and lock-picking devices, according to police.
Justin Conlon, 28, was arrested on Monday night on suspicion of a number of crimes including vehicle theft, grand theft, personal property theft and possession of burglary tools, Hercules police said.
Around 9:50 p.m. Monday, a Hercules police officer was in the 100 block of Beechnut Drive when he noticed a parked silver Hyundai with paper license plates and both seats leaned back, police said. Police said the officer ran the vehicle's registration and found that it had been reported stolen from Pinole last week.
After finding that the car's engine was still warm, the officer waited until the driver, later identified as Conlon, returned. A search showed that Conlon was carrying several credit cards and a set of lock-picking keys, according to police. Inside the car, the officer found pieces of mail from Hercules and several other cities that did not belong to the suspect.
Police contacted four victims of the mail thefts and later arrested Conlon. He was taken to county jail in Martinez, where he is being held in lieu of $240,000 bail.
Conlon is on felony probation in Napa County in connection with a prior theft and had three outstanding warrants for his arrest, according to police. In April, he was charged in Contra Costa County Superior Court in connection with mail thefts from five counties. The charges came after police in Hercules caught Conlon and a handful of co-conspirators with stolen mail.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
