Dumb Criminal Alert? Robbery Suspect Leaves Behind Backpack Containing His Name, Address

A thwarted residential burglary resulted in the arrest this week of a man suspected in a series of thefts and burglaries throughout Redwood City.

According to Redwood City police, Brian Alattas, 18, entered a home in the 100 block of G Street through an open front door on Monday at about 10:40 a.m. while the resident was outside loading her car.

"The victim saw the suspect exit her residence and she confronted him," Redwood City Police Lt. Sean Hart said in a news release.  "The suspect dropped a backpack containing the victim’s laptop computer and fled on foot."

Officers responding to the area searched for the suspect, but couldn't immediately find him.  However, they did search through the backpack he had ditched, which apparently contained property linked to a residential burglary that had occurred earlier in the day in the 200 block of E Street, according to Hart.

Also inside the backpack was something that made officers' jobs very easy to track down the suspect:  a citation previously issued to the teen by the Redwood City Police Department.

Police located Alattas on Tuesday in the 1700 block of Broadway and took him into custody without incident.

During their investigation, officers and detectives linked the suspect to a series of thefts in May of purses and wallets at these Redwood City stores:

• Grocery Outlet on May 11
• Grocery Outlet on May 15
• Foods Co on May 16
• Big Lots on May 28