Martinez Sgt. Jon Sylvia said eight residential burglaries were reported along Arnold Drive in eastern Martinez in the two weeks before and after Thanksgiving. None were reported the week of Thanksgiving.
Police believe that the two boys, a Bay Point resident and a Pittsburg resident who attend a continuation school on Glacier Drive near Arnold Drive, were burglarizing homes after school while they waited for the bus, which stops on Arnold Drive.
The burglaries appear to have stopped the week of Thanksgiving when school was not in session, Sylvia said.
As people began reporting the burglaries, the Police Department added additional patrol officers in the area.
On Dec. 1, officers spotted the two boys walking toward a car. One of the boys was carrying a pillowcase, which police thought seemed unusual, Sylvia said.
When the officers tried to stop the boys, they attempted to flee.
The officers caught up to them and allegedly found items in the pillowcase believed to have just been stolen from a nearby house, Sylvia said.
Both boys were arrested and booked into juvenile hall. Their names are being withheld because they are minors.
On the day of the arrests, detectives conducted a probation search of the home of the Bay Point teenager and allegedly found stolen property, according to police.
On Wednesday, officers served a search warrant at the Pittsburg home, where they seized three firearms, including an assault rifle, police said.
Police said fingerprint evidence has so far confirmed that the boys committed at least three burglaries. Investigators are waiting to see if there is enough evidence to charge the boys for four additional burglaries, Sylvia said.
