Man to Appear in Court After RPV Burglaries

A Long Beach man accused of two burglaries in Rancho Palos Verdes will appear in court Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Michael Drew, 45, was charged with two counts of vehicle burglary and one count of residential burglary in connection with burglaries in the 27400 block of Elmbridge Drive and the 4800 block of Browndeer Lane.

Deputies arrested Drew in the early morning of July 13 after the burglary on Browndeer Lane.

"A couple … was suddenly awakened by the ominous sound of their garage door opening," Detective Joseph Vazquez wrote in the news release. "The owners of the single family residence realized the only way the garage door could open was from inside their home or by someone activating the remote control from within their vehicles."

One of the homeowners looked out the window and saw a strange man "prowling" around the garage, Vazquez wrote. The resident yelled and the burglar ran.

The residents called 911, and minutes later, deputies patrolling saw a white van driving slowly away from the neighborhood. Believing the vehicle to be suspicious, they stopped the van and discovered that the driver, Drew, was driving without a license and on probation for receiving stolen property, Vazquez said.

Deputies discovered stolen property from the Browndeer address in the van, as well as a Garmin GPS watch and a Nike sport watch linked to another vehicle burglary in Rancho Palos Verdes, Vazquez said.

Drew is being held in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.