Tracking device helps Merced police arrest burglary suspect

A suspect has been arrested after police found stolen items from a local beauty supply store.

Around 12:25 a.m. Friday, dispatchers at the Merced Police Department received an alarm call about a tracking device stolen from the Cosmo Prof beauty supply store, 80 W. Olive Ave., according to a news release.

Authorities said the tracking device was found inside a bag containing more than $1,000 of store property. Police located the tracker which pinged a location at an apartment complex near the 3000 block of Park Avenue.

When officers responded to the area, they found the suspect, identified as Salvador Mendoza Orozco, who police said was loitering in a courtyard at the complex and in possession of a bag that contained seven cordless hair clippers, according to the release.

Police said officers went to the beauty supply stored and discovered that it had been burglarized. Officers returned the stolen property to the owner and Orozco, 23, was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, police said.

The Merced Police Department asks anyone with information regarding the alleged crime to contact Officer Barroso at 209-385-6905 or by email at [email protected].