THOUSAND OAKS : 3 Held on Suspicion of Burglarizing Store

Three Los Angeles-area men were arrested on suspicion of burglary early Tuesday after a sheriff’s deputy caught them carrying out armloads of women’s clothing from a Thousand Oaks store.

While on routine patrol about 2:40 a.m., Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Guzzard discovered the front window of Fashions for Less on Thousand Oaks Boulevard smashed and several people loading women’s apparel into a parked van, deputies said.

In the few minutes that the suspects were in the store, they took 27 women’s vests and 32 pants sets in assorted sizes and colors before being caught by deputies, Detective Pat Dain said.

“They love to shop up here,” he quipped.

Police recovered the clothing, which was valued at about $2,000, and arrested Antonio Rodriguez Vasquez, 26, of West Hollywood, and Jose Luis Perez, 30, and Francisco Lopez Perez, 24, both of Los Angeles.

Dain said more suspects may have been involved, but possibly fled when Guzzard arrived. The three who were arrested were booked at the East Valley Sheriff’s Station jail.

Although the store’s alarm went off during the burglary, Fashions for Less Manager Shannon Whitney said it was the watchful eye of the deputy that foiled the crime.

“We’re so happy because it would be very difficult to determine how much inventory we lost,” she said. “We just really lucked out that the police were there.”