Sheriff Seeks More Victims in Napa Burglary Case
Detectives say a 44-year-old Napa man entered unlocked homes and pawned jewelry, with thefts possibly dating to 2024.
NAPA COUNTY: The Napa County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help identifying additional victims in a residential burglary investigation, weeks after the arrest of a 44-year-old Napa man accused of stealing jewelry and handbags from homes with unlocked doors and windows.
David Alejandro Gomez Sanchez was arrested Aug. 21 after detectives noticed a pattern in four recent residential burglaries in the Hagen Road area of Napa. The victims said jewelry had been stolen from their homes, but there was no evidence of forced entry.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the suspect climbed through unlocked doors and windows and took expensive handbags, jewelry and jewelry boxes, disturbing little else inside the homes. Gomez Sanchez is a construction professional who had worked on multiple homes in the area.
Deputies found stolen jewelry inside the suspect’s truck, and authorities say he admitted to participating in the burglaries when arrested. He was caught after a failed attempt to enter a home on Hillcrest Drive.
A wider net
After the arrest, the Sheriff’s Office received emails from additional victims that helped detectives uncover more burglary cases tied to Gomez Sanchez. Detectives recovered some of the stolen jewelry from pawn shops in the North Bay region. Officials believe the thefts could stretch back to 2024.
Photos of recovered items shared by the Sheriff’s Office showed earrings, necklaces, watches, designer handbags and jewelry boxes investigators believe were taken from area homes.
Gomez Sanchez pleaded not guilty to 12 felony charges connected to the alleged burglaries and remained held in the Napa County jail.
The case remains under investigation as detectives catalog the recovered property and work to match items with victims. The Sheriff’s Office says it will keep seeking people who may have been victimized but have not yet come forward.
Detectives ask anyone who believes they may have been victimized to email Detective Solis at [email protected] or Detective Winegar at [email protected]. The office says it believes more related cases across Napa County have not been reported to law enforcement. Authorities remind residents to lock doors and windows even when they are home, since every entry in the case came through an unlocked opening.
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