Burglary Suspect Targeting Upscale San Diego County Spas

Sheriff's investigators today made public images of a man suspected of breaking into lockers at San Diego and Rancho Santa Fe spas and taking wallets, a $60,000 watch and a credit card he used to buy another pricey watch.

The first of the burglaries occurred in the early afternoon May 21 at the Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa at 5921 Calle Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe, according to sheriff's detectives. The suspect walked into the men's locker room, forced open a locker and got away with a man's wallet and a Ulysses Nardin watch valued at $60,000, authorities said.

About an hour later, he used the card and the victim's identification to buy a $12,000 Rolex watch from the Ben Bridge jewelry store at 4505 La Jolla Village Drive, sheriff's officials said.

Five days later, the suspect took another wallet from a locker at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina at 1441 Quivira Road in San Diego, detectives said.

Detectives said the suspect tried to use that victim's credit card to purchase a $500 gift card from the CVS store at 3950 W. Point Loma Blvd., but the transaction was declined. The burglary suspect was caught on surveillance video as he entered the store.

Sheriff's officials described the suspect as white, about 30 and about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. He has short dark hair with sideburns and may have been wearing prescription glasses with lenses that automatically darken in sunlight.

Anyone with more information about the suspect was asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477, or send email to sdcrimestoppers.net.

—City News Service