A 28-year-old Ceres man was arrested Saturday after he broke a window of a car to gain access to a purse while not realizing the owner was sitting behind the wheel.

The victim, a 33-year-old Ceres woman, was sitting inside her vehicle parked in the 1800 block of Moffet Road across the street from Mae Hensley Junior High School. At 9:56 a.m. a male walked by and spotted the woman's purse sitting on the passenger seat. He allegedly punched the glass, broke it and grabbed the purse, apparently not realizing the victim was right there. Suspect Jovan Pacheco, 28, of Ceres, took off running and the victim followed in her car as she called police.

Officers arrived and conducted a search that lasted about 30 minutes. Pacheco then was spotted exiting the yard at 1809 Wallace Ave. Ceres Police Department spokesman Lt. Chris Perry said Pacheco had removed a 49er jersey he had been wearing and left it in another yard. He also discarded his black pants. The stolen purse was recovered.

Pacheco was positively identified as the burglar and was found in possession of five altered keys commonly used in auto burglaries. He was arrested and charged with vehicle burglary, vandalism and possession of burglary tools.