A Santa Rosa man suspected of burglary Wednesday night at the Rite Aid drug store in Sebastopol was arrested a few hours later as he left the Graton Resort & Casino.
Sebastopol police said Adam Keith Beltz, 33, was spotted leaving the drugstore carrying an unknown number of electronic devices in his arms shortly after 5:43 p.m. Wednesday.
"One of the employees at the store actually saw him run out of the store carrying merchandise that was not paid for," said Sebastopol police Sgt. David Ginn.
Ginn said two construction workers outside the store also saw Beltz make his way to a car.
"They saw the guy hurriedly place merchandise in the car," Ginn said. "He dropped one of the packages, so they figured he had just committed the theft and wrote down the license plate."
Police then broadcast a "be on the lookout" report for the vehicle.
Later that evening, a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy on patrol at the new Graton casino in Rohnert Park spotted the car Beltz was driving in the casino parking lot, police said. A Sebastopol police officer met the deputy at the casino and staked out the car.
Ginn said Beltz did not work at the casino.
Beltz was seen getting into the car at about 1:56 a.m. and leaving the parking lot. The Sebastopol police officer pulled the car over, and after searching the car, found electronic devices believed to have been stolen from the Rite Aid, police said.
Beltz, who was on probation in Sonoma County for previous convictions, was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property, dirty hypodermic needles and a controlled substance, oxycodone.
Police said that after reviewing the Rite Aid surveillance video, Beltz may face additional charges of burglary and theft. He remains in custody at Sonoma County Jail.
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