Atascadero police search for man suspected of driving getaway truck in burglary
The Atascadero Police Department is searching for a man suspected of attempting to serve as a getaway driver in a vehicle burglary.
At 6:28 p.m. Tuesday, Atascadero police received a report of a vehicle burglary in the 8600 block of El Camino Real, the agency said in a news release.
An officer responding to the scene learned someone had broken a window and stolen a credit card while the vehicle was parked unattended, the release said.
“While the officer was on the scene, the victim checked her bank activity and found someone had attempted to use the card in the 2200 block of El Camino Real,” police said, so another officer contacted an employee at the business.
“The employee pointed to a female leaving the store as the suspect who had attempted to use the stolen card,” according to the release.
Police took the woman — later identified as Megan Nicole Hosman, 37, of Bakersfield — into custody as she was attempting to get into a waiting Toyota pickup truck, the release said.
The truck quickly fled “at a high rate of speed,” leading to a chase on El Camino Real and Highway 101 before police lost sight of the vehicle “due to the traffic in the area and the suspect’s reckless driving,” according to the release.
At approximately 7:05 p.m., an Atascadero police officer observed the suspect’s vehicle on Viejo Camino being pursued by a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office vehicle and followed the two vehicles as they left the city toward Santa Margarita, the release said.
Police then got erroneous reports that the truck had crashed into a home in Santa Margarita, according to the release.
Sheriff’s Office deputies, K-9 units and California Highway Patrol officers “responded to search for the suspect,” police said. “However, the suspect had fled the area and was not located.”
Police described the man as between 20 and 30 years old. His vehicle was impounded by Atascadero police officers and towed from the scene.
Hosman, meanwhile, was arrested on suspicion of false impersonation, burglary, false use of an access card and obstructing a police officer, according to the release.
Hosman was being held Thursday in San Luis Obispo County Jail custody in lieu of $50,000 bail.
“This incident is still under investigation,” police said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Atascadero Police Department at 805-461-5051.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 6:09 PM.
