Oceanside

An Escondido man suspected of burglarizing two homes was arrested Monday night after unsuccessfully trying to escape police by swimming away in the ocean.

Kerry Gordon Helewski, 29, a carpenter and construction worker, is suspected of breaking into a house in the 1600 block of South Pacific Street, then stockpiling household possessions in the garage, Oceanside Police Sgt. Bill Krunglevich said. The house next door was then broken into, the sergeant said.

When police arrived at the scene, Helewski ran into the ocean and tried to swim away, Krunglevich said. But the tide kept him from going very far, and Helewski drifted southward toward some rocks, where police officers grabbed him and pulled him out of the water, Krunglevich said.

Helewski was treated for assorted cuts and bruises, then taken to the County Jail in Vista, where he was booked on suspicion of first-degree burglary and possession of stolen property, a sheriff’s deputy said. Bail was set at $12,000.