Porterville man arrested after series of robberies, police say | YourCentralValley.com

FILE PHOTO | A Porterville Police Department patrol vehicle.

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A 30-year-old man has been arrested following a series of thefts over the past month in Porterville, according to the Porterville Police Department.

Officers with the Porterville Police Department said they investigated five thefts at local gas stations and markets. Investigators say each incident was determined to have been committed by the same suspect who was acting alone.

Police said that on May 24, at 9:56 p.m., the office received a panic alarm from a market in the 1100 block of West Putnam Avenue. When officers responded, they said it was an attempted robbery by the same suspect involved in the previous robberies.

Officers and detectives say they searched the area and located the suspect who fled on foot after throwing away a replica AR-15 style rifle. Police identified the suspect as Jesus Meza-Sanchez who detectives believe was involved in each of the robberies and attempted robberies.

During a search of a home, detectives say they found additional evidence implicating Meza-Sanchez in the series of robberies. Meza-Sanchez was arrested on several charges and was booked into the South County Detention Center in Tulare County.