FREMONT — A 35-year-old San Jose man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of stealing medical supplies from a healthcare training institute, including about 1,000 N95/surgical and cloth masks, sanitizing wipes and protective gloves, police said Thursday.
But due to emergency rules recently imposed by the Judicial Council of California and the Alameda County Superior Court as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was not taken to jail but was cited and released, police said.
The man was identified as Brian Schulman. Police said he made a full confession and was positively identified as the suspect.
Police said he is suspected of burglarizing Unitek College, 4670 Auto Mall Parkway, on Monday and Tuesday evenings by using stolen master keys to enter the building. and steal the various personal protection items.
Unitek College is a healthcare vocational training institute with programs for nursing and other medical related positions.
About 11:35 p.m. Wednesday, on-site security noticed a suspicious vehicle in the college parking lot and Fremont police were called. Officers arrived on scene within minutes and located the suspicious vehicle as it was leaving the college parking lot. A high-risk enforcement stop was made on the vehicle and the driver, Schulman, was detained.
Officers located a large amount of stolen Unitek medical supplies and other medical equipment in Schulman’s vehicle. Besides the masks, wipes and protective gloves, additional suspected stolen property and identity-theft materials from businesses in Santa Clara County were also recovered, police said.
Schulman had master keys to the college buildings in his possession, though he is not an employee.
Police said that due to recent emergency court rules adopted by the Judicial Council of California, officers were prevented from booking Schulman into a local jail. He was issued a field citation for two counts of commercial burglary, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools and released on scene. No booking photo was obtained as a result of these orders.
In addition to the Judicial Council orders, Alameda County court officials have also barred local police agencies from booking new suspects at Santa Rita Jail unless they are arrested on suspicion of a serious or violent felony.
Staff writers George Kelly and Angela Ruggiero contributed to this report.