A notorious serial burglar who has been dubbed "The Snake Burglar" by Riverside police, has been finally caught. According to investigators, 32-year-old Christopher Jackson is known for crawling into businesses to avoid alarm systems.
On Wednesday, police officers arrested Jackson, at a shopping center. He has several felony warrants for burglary and has been convicted several times on multiple felony charges. Investigators believe that Jackson is responsible for upwards of 70 commercial burglaries to local businesses, mostly within Riverside.
"He brought power tools with him to cut open a safe or whatever he was going to do," said Brian Perrone, co-owner of D'Elias Grinders, a sandwich shop that was burglarized by Jackson on April 1. Perrone's family owns the shop and said that the burglar stole cash and a Samsung tablet.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that his jails are overcrowded, so he has to give early release to many non-violent felons to make room for violent ones. The problem is Assembly Bill 109, which diverts non-violent offenders from serving time in state prison to county jails.
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Officer Ryan Railsback said the last time Jackson was sentenced, he pleaded guilty to 23 felonies and was given six sentences of 16 months each, but because of the laws, he won't actually do prison time. Railsback said that Jackson spent only about ten days behind bars before being released.
"We actually believe since the last time he got out of jail, which was in November of 2022, he's probably committed about 30 since then," Railsback said.
Perrone said that the alleged thief is seemingly spending more time burglarizing businesses than spending time inside a jail cell. He urged the public to call the governor and state lawmakers to make an amendment to AB109 so habitual criminals are forced to serve prison time.
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"It's just ridiculous. There's got to be a point where enough is enough and somebody stays in jail," said Perrone.
If Jackson gets out early again, Railsback said they are going to send a community alert to business owners warning them that they could be targeted by the serial burglar.
