Suspect admits to burglaries, break-ins after DNA match, deputies say

A man who authorities said is responsible for at least 21 commercial burglaries in Palmdale over a five-month span has been arrested, authorities said.

Troy Lee Webster was identified as the serial burglary suspect after detectives from the Burglary Suppression Unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Palmdale Station matched blood that was left at the scene of one of the burglaries to Webster through DNA testing, authorities said.

Deputies said in a statement that Webster, who was arrested Thursday, committed the heists late at night at several locations along Palmdale Boulevard between 10th Street West and 17th Street East and from May to October this year. His image was also captured on a surveillance video while committing one of the burglaries, authorities said.

After detectives allegedly identified Webster, authorities realized he was already in Palmdale Station jail on an unrelated narcotics charge. The suspect subsequently confessed to two burglaries and an additional 19  break-ins, authorities said. In most cases, he would “break through the front door and take whatever cash he could find in the businesses,”  deputies said.

According to authorities, Webster was on probation for burglary at the time of his arrest.

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-- Ann M. Simmons

Photo: This image was captured on a surveillance video while the man committed one of the burglaries that Troy Lee Webster was arrested in connection with, authorities say. Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.