SANTA PAULA : Pair Arrested Over Christmas Gift Theft
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A 19-year-old man and a teen-age boy suspected of stealing gifts from church-goers in Santa Paula on Christmas Day have been arrested, police said.
The gifts were stolen from an unlocked car outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church early Wednesday while the owner attended midnight Mass, said Santa Paula Police Agent Troyce Reynolds. Arrested were Rogelio Juarez Hurtado of Santa Paula and a 17-year-old youth whose name was not released because he is a minor, Reynolds said.
The two were spotted near the church parking lot about 12:40 a.m. with unwrapped clothing and children’s toys hidden under their coats, the agent said.
After a brief investigation, the gifts were returned to a woman who identified them as her children’s Christmas presents, Reynolds said.
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