Police arrested a man on January 5 after a string of thefts and vandalism at the Morro Bay Maritime Museum and the nearby city boat yard.
Officers responded around 9 a.m. to reports of a burglary at the Maritime Museum on Front Street, where three donation boxes had been vandalized and forced open.
An unknown amount of cash was taken. Investigators also found the secured Morro Bay city boat yard had been broken into and items removed from boats inside.
Surveillance footage recovered from the scene showed a white man wearing a white shirt wrapped around his face, a plaid shirt, jeans and carrying a gray backpack.
Around 11:15 a.m., officers who had been dispatched to an unrelated disturbance at 740 Quintana Rd. located a man matching that description.
Police identified the suspect as 45‑year‑old Shane Willhite. Officers say the backpack seen on video was beside him and contained several items taken from the boat yard, along with a white t‑shirt used to conceal his face.
Investigators also recovered a pair of bolt cutters. Willhite reportedly admitted to using the cutters to gain access to the donation boxes and the secured yard.
Willhite was arrested without incident and booked at the San Luis Obispo County Jail on multiple charges, including petty theft with a prior, vandalism and possession of burglary tools.
The Morro Bay Police Department says the investigation is ongoing and is asking anyone with information to contact them.
