Benicia Police Recover Stolen Van, Arrest San Francisco Man

Benicia police are crediting a fast thinking security guard at a FedEx facility in the Benicia Industrial Park with a tip that led to the recovery of a stolen van and the arrest of the man suspected of the theft.

Early in the morning of May 16, 2012, Benicia police received a report of a suspicious man in the parking lot of the FedEx facility in the 600 block of Stone Road.  The man was asking a security guard for gasoline.  The guard called police who found the man in a parked 1997 Dodge van in the 500 block of Stone Road.

When the responding officer, Corporal Mark Menesini ran a check on the Dodge van he found the vehicle was reported stolen from Berkeley the previous day.

26-year-old Phillip Garcia of San Francisco, the man who originally approached the security guard, was taken into custody.  During a search of the van Corporal Menesini found drug paraphernalia usually associated with the smoking of methamphetamine.

The owner of the van was contacted by officers and retrieved the car from Stone Road. Police believe Garcia and the van owner are acquainted and that Garcia did not have permission to drive the van.

Garcia was taken to the County jail in Fairfield and booked for alleged vehicle theft, alleged possession of stolen property and alleged possession of drug paraphernalia.

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