Police arrest man suspected of wearing Spider-Man mask to burglarize Los Banos businesses

A Los Banos man has been arrested for allegedly committing multiple burglaries while wearing a Spider-Man mask, authorities said.

Los Banos Police detectives arrested Lawrence Cecil Smith III, 37, in connection with the burglaries when detectives served a search warrant at his residence Monday, in the 300 block of San Juan Avenue, according to a news release.

Police said the department had been investigating multiple commercial burglaries dating back to October of 2019, that targeted commercial businesses that included storage facilities, a school site, construction companies and other organizations in the community.

The suspect in the burglaries wore a Spider-Man mask to hide is identity during the crimes, according to police. Police made the arrest after detectives put a case together, conducted surveillance and narrowed down a suspect, according to the news release.

Police said detectives were able to recover truckloads of stolen property valued at more than $30,000 from Smith’s residence.

Authorities said Smith was booked into the Merced County Jail on multiple counts of burglary and possession of stolen property. He remains in custody at the John Latoracca Correctional Center in lieu of $60,000 bond, according to jail records.

Detectives are continuing to match stolen property to open burglary cases and multiple stolen items have been identified and returned to victims, according to the release.

Police ask anyone with information regarding the case to contact Detective Lyle Kelly at 209-827-2533.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 11:11 AM.