'Selfie' photo leads to arrest in church burglary

[Hum]

 CHULA VISTA, CA ? This was one selfie the taker probably regrets.

Adam Howe, a suspect in a Chula Vista church burglary, was arrested this week after police found a photo he had apparently snapped of himself on a cellphone left at the scene. :huh:

Howe, 26, is also wanted on felony theft charges in Indiana, authorities there said.

Chula Vista police responded to a report of a ransack burglary Monday night at Hilltop Tabernacle Church on L Street near Third Avenue, Capt. Lon Turner said. The incident happened sometime after 10:30 p.m.

The church building had been broken into, as well as an RV that was parked nearby. A laptop computer was taken, along with cash, several purses and watches.

Property crime detectives recovered a photo from a cellphone that appeared to have been snapped by one of the suspects. An investigator recognized the location where the photo was taken.

Witnesses in the area recognized the person in the photo and suggested other areas where police should investigate. On Tuesday, Chula Vista detectives contacted Howe in Harborside Park.

A search of his belongings revealed stolen property from the church and RV, police said.

Realizing they had not found all of the items that were taken in the burglary, detectives searched the river bottom area behind the church, an area Howe was known to frequent. There they found two other suspects, Victoria Corey, 19, and Mario Nava, 27, in a tent, along with other items that had been stolen from the church.

Corey and Nava were arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property.

Howe, it turns out, is also wanted for failing to appear in court on a theft charge in DeKalb, Ind. Authorities there, however, won?t be coming to Chula Vista to extradite him because the offense isn?t considered serious enough for that effort, a DeKalb County Sheriff?s Department official said Thursday.

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