According to police radio traffic on Saturday, May 30, at about 2:00 p.m., a man was seen smashing a car window with a shovel in the parking lot of the Vons shopping center on Lomas Santa Fe Drive.

According to witnesses, the perpetrator reached into the car and removed what looked like a rifle, then fled the scene in a red SUV.

Witnesses described the suspect as a Hispanic male with a shaved head who wore a white T-shirt. He was said to be bleeding profusely from a cut on his left arm, and a witness was able to get a partial license-plate identification.

Shortly thereafter, deputies arrived and began to search the area but were unable to locate the perpetrator. Deputy Rob Siegfried thought Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas might be a good place to check out.

In the hospital parking lot, the deputy found a bright red SUV with a license plate that matched the partial ID. Deputy Siegfried found someone matching the suspect’s description inside. Deputies entered the waiting emergency room and contacted the suspect — a 21-year-old from San Marcos.

When deputies asked the suspect how he got to the hospital, he pointed to his bright red SUV. A search of the SUV was conducted in an attempt to locate the stolen firearm. What was thought to be a rifle turned out to be a pellet gun. A shovel was found also. A witness from the Vons shopping center showed up at Scripps Encinitas and identified the suspect.

Following treatment of his wound, he was booked into the Vista Detention Facility for vehicle burglary.