A 26-year-old Salinas man arrested over the weekend when he was pulled over in a stolen vehicle with an underage girl may have operated an "extensive criminal network" in the Monterey County area.

"It looks like a traffic stop thwarted an extensive crime spree here and in our neighboring counties to the north," Kings County Sheriff's Cmdr. Dave Putnam said.

Hector Manuel Gonzalez was arrested on Sunday, caught driving a stolen white Toyota Avalon with altered vehicle registration tags. Deputies discovered him traveling with a 17-year-old Tulare girl who admitted that the pair were sharing a physical -- and illegal -- relationship.

But vehicle theft and unlawful sex with a minor may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to law enforcement officials.

Investigators from Monterey County said Gonzalez was the "mastermind" of a stolen property scheme that targeted wealthy summer vacation homes left vacant through the winter.

"He would just move in and set up shop for a couple days," Putnam said. "Many of the homeowners left their alarms turned off, because they didn't want to incur any fees for law enforcement responding to a false alarm."

It was described as a leisurely operation.

The homes were only inhabited for a short period of time in the summer, which made for easy targets in the fall months.

Gonzalez would take inventory at each house and provide prices to his network of potential buyers. Often, his contacts would meet him at the house to inspect the goods. Then he'd set up a delivery location to make the sale.

"One of his primary delivery locations was the Tachi Palace," Putnam said, which may explain why Gonzalez was headed through Kings County on the night of his arrest.

Among other things, a $150,000 Mercedes was found in the casino's parking lot weeks ago. Investigators have linked it to one of Gonzalez's past deliveries.

Initial estimates suggest that Gonzalez was involved in at least six residential burglaries in Pebble Beach and a single home invasion robbery in Carmel.

Investigators believe he is responsible for more than $1 million in stolen property.

Not all of the merchandise was sold off, though. Gonzalez had a penchant for taking stolen vehicles and registering them in his own name, Putnam said.

When he broke into a home, he would seek out the paperwork for the vehicles. Then, with a little forgery, he could switch the ownership into his name at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

On the night of his arrest, he was found with documents linking the stolen car back to its original owner.

"We don't believe he is connected to any local burglaries," Putnam said. "Based on what we've learned, he found himself a cash cow ... and he stuck with it."

Gonzalez was booked into the Kings County Jail, where he is being held on a no-bail parole hold. Putnam said he will remain here to face charges before facing the music in Monterey.

"The investigators will get their cases together and file warrants against him in the coming weeks," Putnam explained. "Once the court process is finished here, someone else will get a shot at him."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(Nov. 19, 2009)