Palo Alto police said they easily located a woman suspected of residential burglary on Monday after she dropped her driver's license during a physical struggle with the home's owner.
Officers received a call at 10:35 a.m. Monday about the case and arrived at the home in the 1000 block of Moffett Circle shortly afterward, police said.
According to police, the homeowner said she arrived home to find the suspect exiting her house with a backpack full of her property. When she tried to stop the suspect, a struggle ensued.
During the encounter, the suspect dropped her license before abandoning the stolen property and driving off in her vehicle, police said.
The woman immediately called police and was able to provide the suspect's driver's license number as well as her license plate number.
At 10:56 a.m., police said they located the suspect's vehicle parked at her residence in the 1900 block of Euclid Avenue in East Palo Alto.
Police arrested 20-year-old Giovanna Vargas Hernandez without incident and booked her into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of residential burglary and robbery.
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According to police, an investigation revealed the suspect entered the house through an unlocked window.
The victim suffered minor scrapes as a result of the struggle, but did not require medical treatment. She was able to recover all of her property outside her home, police said.
Detectives are looking into whether this case may be related to other residential burglaries in the area, according to police.
