Police have made an arrest in a series of home burglaries in Surprise.
Surprise police and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office report that on June 16 four homes in the area of 168th Avenue and Jomax Road were burglarized.
In one burglary, the suspects rammed a steel fence to get close to the back door. They were seen on surveillance video trashing the basement of the home as they stole jewelry, multiple weapons, and other items. Police say in total, the value of the property stolen or damaged was about $80,000.
Fingerprints from checks cashed at another robbery in the area reportedly came back to 23-year-old Leonel Arturo Galaviz.
Police say Galaviz also was seen pawning some of the jewelry taken from the burglary, and a friend of his who pawned one of the weapons reportedly told police that he saw over 25 guns Galaviz had in his possession.
Police say Galaviz is already on probation on vehicle theft charges and is a member of a Yuma gang. He was located and arrested on July 27. He has been charged with burglary.
Surprise police tell abc15.com that the second suspect is known to police but has not yet been apprehended.
