The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against a man they believe is responsible for numerous window-smash auto burglaries of rental cars at Palo Alto restaurants.
Vernon Rayshaun Evans-Carmichael, 22, of San Francisco has been charged with 27 felony counts of burglary and grand theft after a string of window-smash auto burglaries, Palo Alto police said.
Evan-Carmichael’s alleged crime spree dates back to June 24, 2013, when police received a call about an auto burglary in progress at Stanford Shopping Center. Police searched for the culprit, and a witness who noted the suspect’s license plate number told police a man fled in a blue 2013 Ford Escape SUV.
The thief had taken electronics such as laptops and tablet computers from five rental vehicles after smashing car windows. Officers could not locate the burglar’s vehicle that night, but detectives later identified Evans-Carmichael as a suspect and obtained a felony warrant for his arrest on Oct. 3.
The San Francisco Police Department arrested Evans-Carmichael on the warrant on Oct. 22. He was charged with five counts of auto burglary and five counts of grand theft. He posted bail, but failed to appear at his arraignment. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest but detectives were unable to locate him at that time.
Nine window-smash auto burglaries occurred on Tuesday evening, Jan. 14, at the Fish Market at 3150 El Camino Real. Seven of the vehicles were rental cars, and the burglar also targeted small electronics. Evans-Carmichael was suspected in those cases, police said.
On Jan. 16, the Oakley Police Department in Contra Costa County located and arrested Evans-Carmichael on the 1300 block of Gamay Circle, based on the Palo Alto warrant. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail by Palo Alto detectives for the warrant and violation of his probation for a 2012 felony burglary conviction in San Francisco, police said.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office filed on Jan. 24 an additional 17 felony counts — 10 counts of auto burglary and seven counts of grand theft, including a Jan. 13 window-smash auto burglary of a rental car at Sundance The Steakhouse at 1921 El Camino Real.
Evans-Carmichael now remains in custody on $350,000 bail.
Despite his arrest, auto burglaries have continued in Palo Alto. Eight burglaries occurred on the evening of Jan. 23 in downtown parking garages.
Car burglaries continue to be a rising regional trend and are not specific to Palo Alto, police said. In 2013, Palo Alto officers investigated 409 auto-burglary reports, the highest total since at least 2007. Police have already taken 47 auto burglary reports in 2014.
The public can reduce auto burglaries by removing valuables from cars or, if necessary, securing them out of sight prior to arriving at a destination, police said. Car windows should be tightly closed and doors should always be locked.
In some cases, burglars are smashing windows and using the trunk release latch to get at property. Palo Alto police suggest enabling GPS-tracking security features on all portable electronic devices and to become familiar with how to use them. Victims of lost or stolen property should call police immediately and not independently try to recover stolen property, police said.
Detectives continue to investigate all unresolved auto-burglary cases. Anyone with information about the car burglaries or Evans-Carmichael is asked to call the 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.
More crime-prevention tips are available at the department’s website: www.cityofpaloalto.org/StopCrime.
Uh, what’s the point of rolling up your windows and locking your doors if you have removed all valuables from your car?
One smash and grab artist had been arrested 80 times in SF. They just let him go like this guy. Is it any wonder we have a problem?
What do you suggest, Midtown? I agree that there is a problem with these repeat offenders who do not seem to learn the lesson we want them to learn, but what is the solution? I am eager to hear a good one.
More and bigger jails, at taxpayer expense, to house non-violent offenders that are currently being set free due to overcrowding? I would like to see a study and good proposal on that.
Shoot them? You don’t shoot people over crimes like this.
Severe finger-wagging? This dos not seem to get the message across that this behavior is unacceptable.
Threats of future punishments? This will not impact most people who don’t think beyond the needs of the moment. You might as well threaten to put them on Santa’s Naughty List.
I would love to hear a good and realistic solution to this problem. In the meantime, I will keep my car as empty as I can and be aware that this guy will probably be cruising my neighborhood in the not-too-distant future.
Don’t jail them at taxpayer’s expense. Put them in a chain gang. Have them clean freeways, remove graffiti, other work to benefit the community they hurt.
Shucks, if you steal, you get away.
If you are a cop, and you murder, you get away.
If you are a defense attorney, and cops and DAs want to do an egregious prosecution, all court officers cheat discovery, or discovery won’t happen, and habeas corpus will NOT be heard, before interested courts.
If you file a pro se habeas, since no civil attorney will assist, the DA or even the state will file additional charges, to coerce plea, while remanding.
With this, attorneys in SCCo. pay, for Los Gatos lifestyles, while SMCo. crooks, at misconduct profiteering pay for Hillsborough and Belmont, etc.
I bet some folks were wondering what happens, at the Fed. level! SS, DD, and the bar association will occasionally oatch a shyster, who steals funds.
One of my CAL classmates made it, to divorce attorney, and he got disbarred, for shagging a client. But for profiteering, on continuances?
Shysters and cops just smash and grab, while corrupt activists sit and spin.
I would give people like this two sentences, one would be probation for a serious period of time, not 2 years, more like 5, which if broken leads to an automatic severe pre-defined sentence. And second, significant community service, not 40 to 50 hours, more like 400 to 500 hours in a 12 month time frame, which if broken leads to an automatic severe pre-defined sentence. I would give them one solid chance to clean up their act and if they fail to do that I would put them away.
Gethin,
I have to question the heavy community service sentence. Linsay Lohan can afford to devote three months to community service because she has a bankroll to support herself during that time. But most criminals, especially like the ones we are talking about here, need to make money to eat, put a roof over their heads, and possibly take care of family obligations. A heavy community service commitment like that, (500 hours is three months of a full-time job,) would go a long way towards precluding them from getting a job, which is what we REALLY want them to do. So how will they eat? Smash and grab again to survive?
We have to prescribe a punishment that leaves them with a way to legally survive. Otherwise we are forcing them to illegal means or death. We cannot let our penal system trap them into a life of crime, we must provide an exit.
bobnote: The system is far from perfect, and I dislike it too. The best solution is not to get caught in it. Once you are in it, there is misery, I agree. But that cleanup job is not in discussion here, I don’t think.
Well, in the really old days we built big prisons with big walls and moats and drawbridges, but instead of putting the criminals inside, we only let the law-abiding inside. Anyone who didn’t behave was released for a period of time, and repeat offenders were given their freedom forever. With enough cameras, license plate readers, and facial recognition software, we will be returning to those days.
What strike is this for him?
If the state has to put him away for life because he will not stop offending, then he should be working doing something productive, because left alone it’s pretty obvious this guy will just cause problems and cost all of us money. California and the country needs to find a way to make these people not cost everyone so much … give them the chance to work.
someone pointed out that america has more people incarcerated than any nation but it hasnt stopped ”crime”. seems america and everything about it including almost every person needs to examine whats wrong with america. you too, even if you dont consider yourself a ”lawbreaker”. ”if you havent done anything wrong ,you have nothing to worry about”. well then, can we peek into your bedroom at night to see what you do? after all, if youve donr nothing wrong ,you have nothing to hide”. thats to those who dont mind spying. but you say looking in your window is an ”invasion of privacy”. so is electronic spying. you spy on people, they have right to spy on you. after all ,if youre not doing anything wrong in your bedroom, you have nothing to hide.
I learned in the 1970’s while living in Cambridge, Mass to never leave anything valuable in the car and to NEVER lock the car. Locked car = broken windows. Expensive to repair, and hard to deal with during the winter back there. I still don’t lock the car. If theives want my grocery bags or Christian-themed CDs they are welcome to them.