San Jacinto woman comes home to burglar eating her food – Banning parolee arrested

SAN JACINTO, Calif., — Authorities say a felon on parole who was interrupted while burglarizing a San Jacinto residence Sunday afternoon, Dec. 5, was arrested the next day after a homeowner caught him inside her home and eating her food.

Although the alleged burglar threatened the victim and fled the scene with property stolen from the woman’s home, he was arrested in Banning after Sheriff’s officials created a flier with the man’s information and distributed it to area law enforcement agencies.

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Deputies from the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to the 700 block of Sweet Clover Loop at 3:15 p.m. after receiving the report of an interrupted burglary that had just occurred, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Ken Hoon has since said of the incident and arrest.

Responding deputies learned that the victim had returned home Sunday afternoon to find an unknown man inside her home eating her food.

The man, since identified as Muhammad Akhtar, 23, of Banning, threatened the victim and fled the residence with property stolen from the home. Despite searching the area, deputies were not immediately able to locate him.

Caught inside a woman’s home during an interrupted burglary on Sunday afternoon, Banning parolee Muhammad Akhtar was arrested in Banning the next day. RSO booking photo

During their subsequent investigation, deputies were able to locate multiple items of evidence inside the residence including latent fingerprints and shoe prints of the suspect. Deputies also obtained home surveillance footage that ultimately led officials to identifying Akhtar as the man who had broken into the home. Deputies also learned Akhtar is on active parole for assault with a deadly weapon.

With the assistance of a Hemet/San Jacinto’s Crime Analyst, a flier was created and sent to surrounding agencies with a request to detain Akhtar for questioning.

The following day, Banning Police Department contacted San Jacinto deputies about Akhtar having been taken into custody on an unrelated violation of parole charge.

Deputies responded to the Banning Police Department and discovered Akhtar was wearing the same clothing he was seen wearing during the commission of the prior day’s burglary according to Hoon; who said deputies also located multiple items of stolen property from the burglary in Akhtar’s possession.

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Based on their investigation, deputies arrested Akhtar and he was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on suspicion of multiple charges including robbery, residential burglary, making terrorist threats, and violation of parole.

Online jail records indicate he remains in custody and is being held without bail.

Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Deputy Solis at the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station at (951) 654-2702. Callers can refer to incident file number I213390041 and can remain anonymous. 

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.