Police have arrested a man accused of burglarizing the home of a San Bernardino mass shooting survivor while she was paying her respects at a vigil for a slain coworker, deputies said Monday.
Rich Allen Vance, a 52-year-old resident of Victorville, California, was taken into custody in connection with the burglary reported Dec. 4, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. It was unclear whether Vance had an attorney.
Vance is accused of breaking into the Victorville home of Natassa Torralbo in the 13000 block of Amargosa Road by kicking in the door. Authorities said he took several items, including the victim’s handgun and prized Los Angeles Kings' Wayne Gretzky jersey.
"My sister and my daughter and I had gone down the hill to San Bernardino to pay respects at a vigil for my friend, Daniel Kaufman," she said.
Kaufman was one of the 14 people killed in the Dec. 2 terrorist attack. Torralbo works at the Inland Regional Center, where the shooting took place.
"I felt violated at work, violated at home," she said. "There was no safe point for me at all."
The Kings heard about the theft and gave Torralbo a replacement jersey, but the best news came from deputies, who arrested Vance after serving a warrant.
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He was caught on a neighbor's surveillance camera, and Torralbo's mother also saw him before he ran out the back of the home.
"Oh, my God, I noticed the guy is inside the house — I'm so scared," Ana Torralbo said.
Deputies said Vance used Torralbo's gun to commit crimes that included a home invasion robbery.
"We're fortunate the weapon was recovered and this individual is in jail before anyone got hurt," sheriff's Sgt. Dave Burgess said.
Most of the Torralbos' belongings were recovered.
