Pursuit Leads to Arrest of Two Lompoc Men Suspected of Stealing from SLO Hardware Store

Two Lompoc men were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stealing items from a San Luis Obispo County hardware store and pepper-spraying employees when fleeing.

Around 9:00 a.m, Arroyo Grande Police officers were dispatched to Miner’s Ace Hardware on the 100 block of Station Way for a report of a male suspect shoplifting.

The suspect left the store with unpaid items and was stopped by store employees near a vehicle occupied by another suspect. A struggle ensued for the property at which time the second suspect stepped out of the driver’s seat and pepper sprayed the employee. Both suspects fled in the vehicle with the unpaid merchandise, according to the Arroyo Grande Police Department

Once officers arrived on scene they spoke with witnesses and reviewed surveillance video and were able to broadcast vital information to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County Law Enforcement Agencies.

Prior to the Arroyo Grande robbery, the same suspects were also allegedly stealing from an Ace Hardware store in San Luis Obispo.

Around noon that same day, Lompoc Police officers located both the suspects and their vehicle behind a local motel. A foot chase followed, culminating in the successful arrest of the suspects without further incident.

Lompoc Police officers and detectives managed to recover the stolen merchandise and the pepper spray which was likely used during the robbery.

The suspects are identified as David Samulski, 27, and Alberto Montesdeoca, 31, both residents of Lompoc. Samulski is currently on probation.

Officers from the Arroyo Grande Police Department took custody of both suspects and booked them into the San Luis Obispo County Jail for first-degree robbery charges.

Merchandise from another theft was also located and turned over to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.