From a press release:

On June 3 at 2:30 a.m. Murrieta police officers responded to a silent burglary alarm at the Best Buy store at 25080 Madison Ave. Officers arrived within four minutes and saw a male dressed in dark clothing pushing a shopping cart toward the flood control channel which runs along the south side of the business according to a Murrieta Police Department press release.

When the officers attempted to make contact with the individual, he failed to obey the officer's command. The suspect jumped the fence into the flood control channel and ran under the I-15 freeway. As the officer gave chase, the suspect yelled to the pursuing officer that he "had a gun" and he would shoot the officer if the officer continued to chase him. The officer lost sight of the suspect in the darkness and the officer believed the suspect went into a thick grove of eucalyptus trees on the east side of the freeway.

The immediate area was contained with Murrieta officers as well as officers from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A K-9 unit from the Escondido Police Department was also requested to assist with the ground search. Because of the threat the suspect made to the officer, a search of the area was conducted with the activation of the Murrieta S.W.A.T. unit, assisted with officers from Hemet Police Department S.W.A.T. unit.

The suspect was ultimately Advertisement

[ Pala Mesa Resort ] taken into custody without incident at 5:41 a.m. behind a rural residence in the 25000 block of Monroe Avenue. Officer Dan Tyler located the suspect in the rear yard of the home. The suspect had discarded his black sweatshirt and pants nearby and was wearing shorts and a T-shirt and possessed a set of binoculars at the time of his arrest.

During the investigation, the Best Buy store was determined to be burglarized with the use of an acetylene torch to cut a hole in the metal door at the rear of the store. Once inside, the suspect was captured on store surveillance video running through the store with two shopping carts and stealing approx. $24,000 worth of digital cameras and similar electronic devices. The suspect loaded both carts with stolen merchandise and had already placed one of the carts in the flood control channel and was going back for the second one when observed by the arriving officer.

The suspect also had a rented U-Haul truck parked on the east side of the freeway along Monroe Avenue. An acetylene torch was located in the truck. A similar burglary with the same method of entry and similar items stolen occurred from the Best Buy store in Oceanside on May 23, 2008. Detectives are investigating this suspect may be responsible for the previous burglary.

Gabriel Anthony Cardwell, 29, of Oceanside was booked at the Southwest Detention Center with a bail of $500,000.