SLO police catch man burglarizing The Sub

January 9, 2016

A burglar targeted burned San Luis Obispo business The Sub, but police caught him before he walked away with some of the items that survived a fire last month.

On Dec. 26, a fire burned day and night, destroying The Sub, a retail and head shop located at 295 Higuera Street. The business had since been boarded up and fenced off.

Just prior to midnight Thursday, San Luis Obispo police received a report that a man had possibly broken into The Sub. Officers responded to the burned business, but they did not find a suspect.

Police were told a man had fled the area just before officers arrived, according to a SLOPD news release.

About 30 minutes later, officers returned to The Sub after receiving a report that the same man had come back to the location carrying a pry bar. Officers searched the area and found a boarded up window had been forced open.

The officers discovered items had been taken from the business and hidden near the window. Police returned the items to a business employee.

Officers then began surveilling the location, waiting for the suspect to return.

At about 4 a.m., the man returned to the window where the stolen property was placed. Police took him into custody and identified him as 27-year-old San Luis Obispo resident Ronald Bolen.

Bolen had soot and ash on his clothing. He confessed to going inside the building and placing the items at the window, according to police.

Officers booked Bolen in San Luis Obispo County Jail on one count of commercial burglary. He remains in custody with his bail set at $20,000.