Menlo Park police arrested an Atherton man, Clayton Carr Carlson, 18, on charges that include petty theft after a man discovered a theft of his unlocked vehicle in progress in the 1000 block of Santa Cruz Avenue at about 8:15 p.m. Sunday, April 9. The vehicle’s owner discovered Mr. Carlson “stealing items from his vehicle” and detained him until police arrived, police said.
Three-year sentence in west Menlo art theft
Deanna Joao, 47, of South San Francisco was sentenced to three years in prison April 11 after she pleaded no contest to charges that included burglary of art from a van belonging to Sense Fine Art Gallery on the Alameda de las Pulgas in unincorporated West Menlo Park.Ms. Joao, along with South San Francisco residents Jeffrey Harp and Derek Hanson, were arrested and charged December 11 after deputies from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office caught them in a sting.
The three were seeking appraisals of art known to be stolen November 23 from a van parked on a San Francisco street and belonging to the Sense gallery.
Mr. Harp, 33, pleaded no contest on March 7 to possessing stolen property. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Mr. Hanson did not show up for a scheduled court appearance in March, but is now back in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail, having been booked March 31, said Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County chief deputy district attorney.
