Police nab suspect in brazen Monday morning burglary

An Oakley man is in jail after police say he burglarized a home on Bettencourt Drive in Clayton on Aug. 12 and then ran from police.

About 10 a.m. the resident heard a knock on the front door. Thinking it was a salesman, she didn’t answer, but watched out the window as she saw a man, later identified as Luis Padilla, go around the side of her house. His car was parked in front of her home.

She took down the license number and a description of the vehicle and called 911. While on the phone, she heard Padilla try to enter the kitchen from the garage.

Before police arrived, Padilla took off in his car with the woman’s purse, which she had left on the seat of her car in the garage.

He led Concord and Clayton police on a chase through Pittsburg and Antioch, tossing out the woman’s keys and wallet along the way. Padilla allegedly ditched the car in Antioch, but police were able to find him through DMV records.

Thanks to several Good Samaritans, says Clayton Police Chief Chris Thorsen, all of the woman’s belongings were recovered.

Her keys were found by an Antioch woman out for a walk. She picked up the keys and left a note on the telephone pole with her phone number. Police called the number and recovered the keys.

Padilla has a long history of prior felony arrests, Thorsen said.