DNA leads to arrest of ‘hot prowl’ suspect tied to cold case in California

A 46-year-old man in custody for burglary is facing additional charges after alleged DNA evidence was used to connect him to a nearly year-old cold case, authorities announced Wednesday.

In April 2023, deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a residential burglary on Charterwood Court in Thousand Oaks.

Detectives with VCSO’s East County Investigations Career Criminal Unit assumed the investigation, but ultimately closed the case in July 2023 after failing to identify a suspect in the burglary.

In late February of this year, detectives caught a break when a suspect identified as Thousand Oaks resident Luis Alonso Parada was arrested for a “hot prowl” burglary — attempting to burglarize a home while at least one person is inside the residence — in the same area of Charterwood Court.

“Detectives recognized similarities between the two cases and reopened the closed burglary case,” a VCSO news release stated. “Through the use of DNA evidence obtained during both burglary investigations, detectives established Parada as the suspect for the burglary case from 2023.”

The 46-year-old, who was already in custody at Todd Road Jail in Santa Paula for the February incident, was charged with an additional count of residential burglary for the April 2023 case.

Parada’s bail was set at $50,000. He is due to appear in Ventura Superior Court on March 29.

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