Serial burglar arrested for targeting mosque in Seaside
By Jacquelyn Quinones
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SEASIDE, Calif. (KSBW) — A serial burglar was arrested in Seaside after being caught on surveillance video stealing from the Islamic Society of Monterey’s charity box.
Leaders at the mosque expressed shock over the incident but were thankful for the quick response from Seaside police, who apprehended the suspect within 24 hours.
Ali Khalil, President of the Islamic Society of Monterey, said, “It was shocking, we lived here in these communities our whole lives, we don’t really see very much going on, especially right here at the Mosques.”
During the incident, a cleaning service employee let the man inside, not suspecting anything unusual.
Khalil explained, “He let him inside and then walked off. Shortly after that, they were on the camera and he saw him right away touching the box, moving the donation box around, and shoving something inside, trying to grab money out of it.”
With the help of Flock cameras, police identified the suspect as Ashraf Hegaz from San Bruno.
Seaside Police Chief Borges said, “This San Bruno officer read this flier saw that this suspect lived in their community and immediately went and started to seek him out found him at his house arrested him late last night and we sent staff here in Seaside to drive up to San Bruno and we brought him to his new home right now which is the Monterey County jail.”
Hegaz has seven prior convictions related to mosque burglaries dating back to 2004 and may be connected to several active cases in the Bay Area.
The employee confronted Hegaz, who then fled, prompting a call to Seaside police. Officers quickly responded, checking the area and reviewing video footage.
Seaside police emphasized their commitment to community safety, stating, “Not come here and do this. He picked the wrong city to do this in. We are relentless when you come and violate our community members, we’re going to put every single resource we have to capture you and hold you criminally accountable.”
According to police, Hegaz will face several felony charges.
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