Merced police catch man burglarizing car dealership

Merced police arrested a man they found inside a car dealership after a burglar alarm sounded.

Police responded to Ron Smith Buick on Auto Center Drive about 11:30 p.m. Thursday because an alarm was going off, a Police Department news release said. When officers arrived, they found a window had been forced open on the back side of the building.

Inside, they found 47-year-old Joseph Ray Dehart, who, according to police, already had taken items from the building.

Dehart was booked into jail and remained at the John Latoracca Correctional Center on more than $70,000 bail Monday. Dehart was convicted of auto theft in 2012, according to jail records.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Merced police catch man burglarizing car dealership."