Norman Seal, 36, of Modesto, was arrested for auto burglary on Sept. 22 after officers found him in someone's 2002 Toyota pickup parked in a driveway in the 1700 block of Zona Bella.
The owner of the pickup called police at 9:41 a.m. to report a stranger inside his vehicle. Officers arrived and found the passenger door open and Seal appearing to be asleep in the driver's seat. Seal began asking "What's going on?" as he attempted to appear confused.
Officer Jeremy Caron recognized Seal from prior contacts and confirmed he was on parole. A backpack was found inside the vehicle that did not belong to the pickup owner of the vehicle and appeared to belong to Seal. The vehicle owner looked through the truck and identified items missing which consisted of: Armani sunglasses and a small amount of money stored in the center console.
Officer Caron searched the backpack and located the sunglasses as well as a cordless drill and costume jewelry that belonged to the pickup owner. The items had an estimated value of $405.
The owner insisted that he locked the pickup the prior evening however, there was no obvious sign of forced entry. Seal was searched and he was found with shaved keys, which are a common form of entering/stealing locked vehicles. Officer Caron used the keys and was able to easily open the vehicle after only a few seconds of manipulating the lock cylinder.
Seal admitted to burglarizing the vehicle and he was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail for burglary, possession of burglary tools, and parole violation.
Vehicle burglary arrest made on Zona Bella