Two home burglaries in Manhattan Beach Monday evening resulted in the arrest of one suspect and an ongoing search for the intruder in the second incident.
Though the two incidents occurred within just a few hours of each other, police believe they are unrelated, said Officer Stephanie Martin of the Manhattan Beach Police Department.
Rodolfo Castaneda, 22, was arrested and booked for burglary Monday night. His bail is currently set at $50,000.
The first incident occurred at 5:30 p.m. when a man entered an unlocked residence in the 200 block of 26th Street. He fled when the resident arrived home and found him inside. He was subsequently caught by two off-duty MBPD detectives who happened to be jogging in the area, Martin said.
The second incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. when a juvenile arrived to find an intruder in his home in the 3600 block of Palm Avenue. The man fled from the kitchen and escaped through the back door, Martin said.
“There was at least a 10-minute delay before we were notified,” she said.
In response to the two burglaries, neighboring agencies in El Segundo, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach dispatched their K9 units, and LAPD sent a helicopter to aid in the search.
However, officials were unable to locate the second suspect after an exhaustive neighborhood search, Martin said.
The suspect is described as a black male, 20 to 28 years old, 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10, 150 to 170 lbs. with a thin build, brown hair and a light, “five ‘o clock shadow” beard. He was seen wearing a white shirt and black gloves.
Additionally, Martin noted a possible connection between the suspect and a black sedan that was parked south of the residence but disappeared shortly after the incident.
