Property crimes detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office have arrested 23 year old Steven Vega of Fresno.
He has been booked into the Fresno County Jail on charges of home invasion robbery, kidnapping, auto theft, possession of stolen property and looting. Vega is also currently on parole for being convicted of a previous home invasion robbery. His bail is set at $90,000.
On Wednesday, a 15 year old boy and his 13 year old sister were at their home located in a neighborhood near E. Butler and S. Clovis Avenues in Fresno. Shortly after 3:30 pm, the boy became startled after discovering a man had broken into the house. The suspect (later identified as Steven Vega) told the teen he was there to take property from the home. The boy remained relatively calm in hopes of deescalating a potentially dangerous situation. He lead Vega into a room where he could load up a bag with whatever he wanted, which the suspect did. Vega told him he was homeless and hungry. The two made their way into the kitchen and the teen warmed up a frozen burrito and gave it to Vega to eat. Vega then began wandering around the house. The teen tried diverting Vega’s attention away from all of the bedrooms, knowing his sister was inside one of them. She did not know a stranger was in the house and her brother didn’t want her to get scared. The 15 year old was able to successfully keep Vega away from her room. After being in the house for 40 minutes, Vega finally took the keys to a gray 2019 Chevy Camaro parked in the driveway and drove off in it. The teen got his sister and went to a neighbor’s house to explain what happened and a call was made to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrived and took a report. They checked the area for the stolen car, but were unable to find it.
Thursday morning, detectives continued to canvass the area for the missing car. When they reached the area of E. Jensen and S. Clovis Avenues, they saw two men standing in an orchard next to a gray Chevy Camaro. Detectives contacted them and found the car had become stuck in the dirt. One of the men, Steven Vega, was attempting to get the property owner to help him get the car out of the field. Detectives arrested Vega and took possession of the Camaro, which contained all of the items stolen from the home on Wednesday. The car and the property have been returned to the owners.
Anyone with additional information about Steven Vega is asked to contact Sheriff’s Detective Rudy Tafoya at (559) 600-8060. You may also contact Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867 or www.valleycrimestoppers.org You will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
