A Contra Costa County Sheriff truck blocks the entrance to Heather Drive a block away from the 1400 block of Rachel Road as law enforcement are involved in a standoff in San Pablo, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Police used a loud speaker to instruct resident Leo Ortega to exit the home with his hands in the air. Around 2 p.m. police released tear gas and shots were heard from a block away. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
BAY POINT — A local 59-year-old plumber has been arrested and charged with burglarizing and vandalizing his 78-year-old ex-girlfriend’s home after she broke up with him and kicked him out, court records show.
The suspect, identified in court records as Jeffrey Allen, was charged on May 22 with elder abuse, burglary, grand theft, and vandalism, all felonies. He pleaded not guilty on May 28 and was released from jail while the case is pending, with the next court date set on June 11, records show.
While Allen is out of jail, he’s been ordered to stay away from the alleged victim, who police say returned from vacation in mid-May to find her house had been burglarized and partially destroyed.
Authorities allege that Allen stole approximately $1 million in gold and jewelry. He also allegedly nailed doors shut, glued keyholes, and in a final act of vandalism, allegedly turned on the water and disconnected the pipes to her sink in an attempt to flood the home. The total damage was estimated to cost $10,000, according to police.
Police say surveillance camera footage from the area shows Allen making multiple trips to the Bay Point home on May 14, loading property into a Dodge Durango, and instructed three unidentified men to help him. Authorities also reportedly found evidence that Allen was not only angry about the breakup but believed that his ex-girlfriend had illegally evicted him by kicking him out and changing the locks.
Allen left a handwritten note in the home, police say. He was arrested May 21 at an auto parts shop in Vacaville, where he refused to speak with detectives and requested a lawyer, authorities say.
In the parking lot of the auto parts shop was the same Dodge used in the burglary, police allege.
Originally published at Nate Gartrell