Suspect in Dozens of Beach Burglaries Arrested at La Mesa Motel

A 40-year-old man suspected in 50 vehicle burglaries, some in La Mesa, was arrested Friday at a La Mesa motel, authorities said.

Curt Simnitt was booked into San Diego downtown jail at 9:35 a.m. in connection with a spree between August and December 2011, according to jail records. 

Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Western Division announced Simnitt’s arrest Friday.
 
Besides La Mesa, incidents occurred in Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and downtown San Diego.

“The suspect generally targeted beachgoers,” said San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown.  “He would watch surfers, swimmers, joggers and others visiting the beach as they secured their belongings in their vehicle and then hid a key nearby.”

After the victims left the area, she said, the suspect would use the victim’s key to unlock the vehicle and remove nearly all of the property inside.  In some instances, the suspect forced entry to the target vehicles. 

Most cases took place at San Diego beaches. However, the suspect also committed some of the crimes in shopping center parking lots, Brown said.

Detectives identified Simnitt as the suspect, obtained a warrant and conducted a search at his residence where they located property and evidence from about 50 vehicle burglaries, she said. 

Detectives recovered the property but because Simnitt was in custody on unrelated charges, did not arrest him at that time. 

“While some of the property has been released to its owners, a large amount still needs to be returned,” Brown said.  “The recovered property—including surfboards, wetsuits, backpacks, watches, wallets, glasses and computers—was made available for viewing by the media at the San Diego Police Department Western Division station. 

On Friday, San Diego police detectives located Simnitt’s vehicle at a motel in La Mesa, Brown said. 

“The detectives determined which room Simnitt was in and attempted to contact him,” she said.  “Simnitt initially refused to come out, but he eventually exited the room and was arrested without incident. 

Simnitt was booked into county jail on numerous charges, including 20 counts of possession of stolen property, 5 counts of identity theft, as well as burglary, forgery and possession of a controlled substance. 

Simnitt is expected to be arraigned Jan. 18. 

A Curt Simnitt was pictured as part of a 1984 Mission Trails Little League section champion team photo, when the suspect would have been about 13.