A man suspected of leading a years-long burglary spree targeting small businesses for California Lottery tickets has been identified and is in custody, authorities said.
The Camarillo Police Department Investigations, along with the Los Angeles Police Department and California State Lottery Investigations, identified Raúl Jr. Najera as the main suspect in a series of coordinated burglaries that occurred between July 2024 and July 2025 across multiple counties.
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Five burglaries were reported in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks during that period, where small businesses were left with broken gates, shattered windows and thousands of stolen lottery scratchers, officials said.
Investigators used evidence and various investigative tools to identify Najera as one of the suspects.
The California Lottery released a statement regarding Najera’s arrest.
“Our law enforcement teams worked closely with local and state partners to identify and apprehend the suspect in this case.”
On August 12, LAPD caught Najera during an attempted lottery ticket burglary along with other suspects.
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“Using a rotating crew of yet unidentified accomplices and a series of getaway vehicles, Najera led coordinated burglaries on vulnerable “mom-and-pop” stores”, declared a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
According to authorities, nearly $10,000 in stolen lottery tickets were redeemed in South Los Angeles within hours of the crimes. Najera had also been linked to similar burglaries in Camarillo in 2020.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for Najera on Oct. 9.
Najera is currently at the LA County Jail and will be transferred to Ventura County, where he will face five felony burglary charges.
