Crime & Safety

Man Accused of Burglarizing Shopper's Truck at Grossmont Center

A man allegedly spotted rifling around inside a shopper's truck at Grossmont Center ran from police but was arrested a short time later, police said Sunday.

The shopper called police about 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 to report that the suspect, later identified as Lance Rodgers, 31, of El Cajon, was combing through his property inside his 2004 Ford Ranger parked in the mall's parking lot, 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa police Lt. Ray Sweeney said.

The victim confronted the suspect, and he ran off, Sweeney said. However, he didn't get far.

An officer contacted him at a nearby Wal-Mart, but he ran off again, only to be caught after a short chase, Sweeney said. Neither Rodgers or the officer was injured, he said.

Rodgers was arrested for suspicion of burglary, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest, and was booked into San Diego Central Jail, Sweeney said.

He was being held in lieu of $25,000, and was scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records.

Sweeney asked anyone with additional information to call the La Mesa Police Department at (619) 667-1400, or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Reported by City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.