Home Depot employee runs up big tab

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Detectives booked a 20-year-old Isla Vista man into county jail for embezzlement, burglary and conspiracy after officials at the Home Depot in Goleta said the man was responsible for several thefts from that store.
Sgt. Alex Tipolt, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department, said the alleged thief, Aarone Perez, was employed by Home Depot at the time of the incidents, which occurred on Dec. 20 and 22.


“On these occasions friends of Perez would enter the store and collect various items and then proceed to he cashier where Perez was working,” Tipolt said. “At the register, Perez would scan each item and then delete all but one or two of the items.”
He said the store’s loss prevention officers were notified when the computers identified the suspicious transactions.
Tipolt said most of the stolen property, which is valued at $2,621, has been recovered and returned.
He said anyone with information about the investigation should contact detectives at 681-4150.