Countywide : Suspect in Scores of Burglaries Arrested

Police have arrested a man suspected of burglarizing at least 100 houses in Ventura and Los Angeles counties since December, identifying him in part by his habit of kicking in the front doors, authorities said.

Larry Haskins, 34, a transient living in the Santa Paula area, is being held in the Ventura County Jail on suspicion of burglary, receiving stolen property, heroin use and violation of state parole, Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Ritchie said. Haskins was also wanted on a $5,000 warrant for petty theft.

Ritchie said authorities have set bail at $105,000.

Santa Paula police arrested Haskins Friday afternoon after an anonymous caller told police that Haskins would be at a residence on Grant Line Street, Police Sgt. Bill Woodson said. He said he chased Haskins’ car about five blocks before Haskins fled from his car into a store parking lot.

Woodson said he and other officers using police dogs found Haskins hiding in a back yard behind a large wooden footlocker.

Since July 1, Haskins has been suspected of committing burglaries in Oxnard, Ventura, Ojai, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, as well as Malibu and the Santa Clarita Valley, Ojai Police Detective William Stevens said.

The Ojai, Ventura and Santa Paula police departments have ongoing investigations along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Woodson said.

Police said Haskins is suspected of stealing items ranging from television sets and videocassette recorders to jewelry and guns. He usually entered houses, including those of acquaintances and friends, by kicking in the front door, Stevens said. Sometimes, however, he used side windows to enter, Stevens said.

Several detectives interviewed Haskins at the jail Saturday where he admitted an addiction to heroin and said he used at least two grams a day, Stevens said.

Since 1974, Haskins has been in and out of jail on property-related crimes, including burglaries, forgeries, narcotic use and possession of stolen property, said John Ide, a supervisor for the Santa Barbara Parole Unit, a division of the state Department of Corrections.

Haskins was imprisoned on burglary charges from May, 1987, to December, 1989, when he was released on parole. He then disappeared in May, Ide said. The parole division issued a no-bail warrant for violation of parole at the time and has worked with local law enforcement officials to help locate him.