Corona Police Nail Man Suspected In 'Hundreds' Of Burglaries

The Corona Police Department is thanking its investigators, the Corona/Norco Unified School District, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, and the community for helping to convict a man they say is likely responsible for hundreds of burglaries stemming back as far as 2003.

On Jan. 8, Carlos Hernandez, 42, of Corona pleaded guilty to 29 counts of burglary and was sentenced to eight years straight jail time, with no supervised release or probation time due to his propensity to re-violate, according to a news release from the Corona Police Department. 

The conviction follows a 2013 investigation by the Corona Police Department when detectives were looking at a systematic pattern of burglaries occurring at local schools. From August 2013 to November 2013, there were 29 cases of burglaries at the Corona/Norco Unified schools, with the primary targets of theft being laptop computers and computer equipment, according to the news release.

As investigators honed in, they collared Hernandez as he was fleeing from an alleged burglary at Coronita Elementary School on Nov. 12, 2013. 

"Following Hernandez’ arrest, the detectives were able to present a very detailed and extensive case history to the Riverside County District Attorney. They were able to present hundreds of cases Hernandez was likely responsible for, based on the same motive, from a series of burglaries that occurred in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, and now, the 29 new cases in 2013," the news release read.