Drug Traffickers Suspected in Burglaries : 2 Mexicans Face Hearings in Thefts at 42 Solana Beach Homes

Two men deported to Mexico a year ago for drug-trafficking violations will face preliminary hearings next week on suspicion of burglarizing as many as 42 homes in Solana Beach, authorities said.

Both men were picked up in the past two weeks by investigators, who believe witness identifications and fingerprints taken from about half of the burglary scenes prove they are responsible for a string of mainly daytime thefts in a quiet residential community, sheriff’s detectives said.

A third Mexican national also is being sought in connection with the burglaries, said Detective Larry Van Wey of the Sheriff’s Department in Encinitas.

The burglaries may have netted as much as $40,000 in stolen property and cash, and probably were used to support the alleged drug habits of the men, Van Wey said. They took place in an area north of Lomas Santa Fe Drive on Dell Street and Granados and Nardo avenues, he said.

None of the property or cash, which may have been sold or traded quickly to finance drug buys, has been recovered, he said.

Burglarized Before

Genaro Vences Lopez, 18, was arrested on June 2 by Deputy Richard Escamilla, who caught him after plainclothes detectives saw the man removing a window screen from a house in the 500 block of Lomas Santa Fe. Investigators believe the house had been burglarized once before by the men.

Lopez also was identified by witnesses as the person who was seen on May 30 trying to break into a house on South Nardo Avenue, Van Wey said.

Lopez, deported last year as a juvenile for drug trafficking, faces 11 counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary. Bail has been set at $200,000, and his preliminary hearing is on June 23.

Pedro Silovar Osorio, 19, was arrested by Deputy Roy Heringer on June 8 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Later, investigators linked his fingerprints to two of the burglaries, Van Wey said.

Osorio, deported on a suspended three-year sentence for drug trafficking, faces 2 counts of burglary and is being held on $10,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for June 22.

Osorio also could face charges by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of felony re-entry for returning to the United States, Van Wey said.

The string of break-ins started at the end of April, and the burglaries were marked by similar features, the detective said. Most occurred in the same area during the daytime, entry was gained through a forced window and similar property was stolen in each incident.

Investigators believe at least one house in the area was robbed twice by the men, and in some cases, the residents were in their homes when the men broke in, Van Wey said.

Osorio allegedly ate half of a pineapple upside-down cake while burglarizing one home, he said.