SLO burglar caught on pawn shop cam

March 29, 2017

A Costa Mesa man tried to pawn several pieces of unique jewelry that disappeared in a San Luis Obispo home burglary earlier this month, according to SLOPD. San Luis Obispo police officers did not catch the man, but he has since been arrested in both northern and Southern California.

On March 9, police began investigating a residential burglary in the 800 block of Mill Street. Shortly afterwards, a man tried to pawn several unique pieces of jewelry that were believed to have come from the burglary.

Investigators obtained surveillance footage of the suspect trying to pawn the jewelry and distributed photos to law enforcement agencies across the state.

Last week, Northern California investigators contacted SLOPD, saying they recognized the suspect, Joseph Hopkins, 29. Hopkins had been arrested in Northern California for another residential burglary and bailed out of jail before SLOPD was informed that he had been taken into custody.

Then, late last week, Hopkins was arrested in Southern California on new charges of conspiracy, a SLOPD press release states. Over the weekend, San Luis Obispo investigators interviewed Hopkins.

An investigation into the case is ongoing. Investigators request that anyone who has information about Hopkins call the police department at 805-781-7312 or Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP.

When SLOPD completes its investigation, it will forward the case to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.