Police arrested a pair of suspected thieves Saturday while on patrol in Carmel Valley.
According to the San Diego Police Department’s post on Instagram, detectives doing holiday checks on businesses on the 2600 block of Del Mar Heights Road became suspicious of a car spotted in an employee-only parking area. Apparently, the driver of the vehicle was pacing and driving around the parking lot for quite some time.
Detectives checked the license plate number and determined the owner of the car had prior gun-related and domestic violence arrests.
When the driver entered a CVS store, police followed and allegedly observed him and a woman returning items at the cash register.
As the man, identified as Michael Brewer, was leaving the store, he allegedly shoplifted an item and stowed it away in the car. This prompted police to suspect the couple were stealing things and then returning the items without receipts.
Brewer and his companion, Sophia Fuentes, were arrested and face charges of possession of stolen property, possession of an unregistered gun and possession of methamphetamine.
Following the pair’s arrest, police searched the vehicle and allegedly found methamphetamine, a loaded 9-mm handgun, magazines with ammunition, two stolen license plates and burglary tools.
— Staff report
