Oceanside CA— Thursday morning, January 29, 2015 at 7:00 officers of the Oceanside Police Department went to the Shell Gas station at 2315 Vista Way to investigate a window smash burglary. The loss consisted of lottery tickets and cigarettes. The officers completed their investigation and cleared the call.
At approximately 10:00 a.m. Oceanside Police Dispatchers received a call from San Diego Sheriff’s Office dispatchers who stated they received a call from the California State Lottery advising them that the stolen lottery tickets were being used in the City of Vista. A silver Ford pickup was seen leaving with two suspects inside.
Dispatch provided a suspect description. As the suspects made their way through the City of Vista and then back to Oceanside, the California Lottery provided an update where the suspects were attempting to redeem the lottery tickets. The last known store was at the AM-PM located 1501 North Melrose. Oceanside Police officers responded and subsequently detained the suspects in the 600 block of Pichaco in Oceanside.
The suspects were found to be in possession of the stolen lottery tickets. Detectives from the Oceanside Police Department were notified and responded to the scene. They subsequently obtained a search warrant for the premises and searched a residence. They also conducted a fourth waiver search in the city of Vista on one suspect’s residence and located additional stolen lottery tickets. Two suspects were arrested and later booked for burglary and possession of stolen property. Nicholas Mara has an added charge of being in possession of brass knuckles.
The two arrested are Matthew Ploeg and Nicholas Mara