Man arrested in burglaries of Fountain Valley and Tustin jewelry stores

Detectives have arrested a North Hollywood man suspected of cutting his way into two jewelry stores in Fountain Valley and Tustin, police announced this week.

Victor Barba Herrera, 50, was arrested Wednesday at his home on suspicion of felony burglary, police said.

Authorities suspect he was involved in two burglaries of jewelry stores in Orange County.
In April, Tustin Village Jewelers was burglarized when someone cut a hole in the roof of a neighboring business and then tunneled into the jewelry store, police said.

And in November, someone cut a hole through the roof of the Ballard and Ballard jewelry store at 18400 Brookhurst St. in Fountain Valley, disabled the alarm system and made off with merchandise, police said.

Police suspect Herrera stole a total of $700,000 worth of jewelry from the two stores.
Detectives identified Herrera as a suspect when they found DNA linking him to both crime scenes, police said.

After obtaining a search warrant, police raided Herrera’s home in the 6700 block of Ensign Avenue in North Hollywood.

Authorities said they found burglary tools and property that might have been stolen from the two stores.

Herrera is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail in Orange County Jail.