Police said a 28-year-old man suspected of committing multiple burglaries at area fire stations, including one in Citrus Heights, was arrested Monday with the help of Citrus Heights SWAT officers.
Sgt. Jason Baldwin said residents near Raintree Drive and Auburn Boulevard would have seen a heavy police presence Monday morning as deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the Citrus Heights Police Department’s SWAT team took suspect Lonnie Scott Schaefer into custody from a home on Witchinghour Court. A sheriff’s department news release said the arrest followed more than a dozen burglaries, attempted burglaries, and vandalism incidents at fire stations in the county over the past two month — with primarily power tools being stolen.
Baldwin reported the suspect was taken into custody without incident, but said a heavy police presence was necessary because Schaefer “had some violence in his history.” He confirmed Metro Fire Station 21, on Greenback Lane near San Juan High School, is among the fire stations believed to be targeted by Schaefer.
As previously reported on The Sentinel, a burglary was reported at 8:43 a.m. on May 30 at Station 21, where a door had reportedly been forced open. A report was taken, but nothing was reported stolen and no suspect information was known at the time.
Related: 2017 Citrus Heights Police Logs: burglary, road rage, naked neighbors, skate park assault
Schaefer was arrested following a burglary reported Monday morning around 2:30 a.m. at Station 29 on Greenback Lane in Orangevale, the sheriff’s department said. Deputies in the area observed a vehicle leaving the scene, but Schaefer allegedly fled the vehicle on foot and was not able to be located in the area. He was later found around 10 a.m. at a residence on the 7100 block of Witchinghour Court, according to the sheriff’s department’s news release.
Online inmate records show Shaefer is ineligible for bail and has been charged with burglary, vandalism, and resisting arrest. The sheriff’s department said detectives “are still trying to determine whether Shaefer had involvement in any other burglaries of fire stations or if there were others involved.”
Anyone with information pertaining to burglaries is asked to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department at (916) 874-5115. Anonymous tips can be left at www.sacsheriff.com or by calling (916) 874-TIPS.
