By Sean Emery
The Orange County Register
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — A man suspected of stealing a generator from a firetruck was taken into custody on Wednesday, police said.
The theft occurred while firefighters were responding to reports of smoke in a building at Garden Grove Medical Center in the 12600 block of Garden Grove Boulevard on Monday, police Lt. David Kivler said. Doors on a firetruck were open, leaving a generator with a halogen light affixed to it in plain sight.
Surveillance footage caught a man walking by the truck as he left a nearby building. Several minutes later, a sport utility vehicle pulled up next to the truck and a man got out, grabbed the generator and drove away. Investigators identified the man as Joe Gomez Jr., 47, of Anaheim through interviews with businesses in the medical facility, Kivler said.
Gomez was arrested at his home on suspicion of grand theft and possession of stolen property, and police found the missing generator there, Kivler said.
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