Man, woman arrested for Mill Valley medical facility burglary
Suspect arrested for a burglary at a medical facility in Mill Valley. Photo: Marin County Sheriff's Office
MILL VALLEY, Calif.. - An Oakland woman and a Sacramento man are accused of burglarizing a medical facility in Mill Valley, making off employees' bank cards, and allegedly making fraudulent purchases with them.
Marin County sheriff's detectives announced the arrest on Friday, identifying 43-year-old Adrian Thompson of Sacramento and 28-year-old Riana Buffin of Oakland as suspects in the December 2024 burglary of the facility.
Officials said the pair were part of a larger commercial burglary crew operating in several states, including Texas, South Carolina, and Washington.
The backstory:
According to the sheriff's office, the medical facility reported a suspicious man loitering inside the office.
A therapist confronted the man when he was inside her private office; he told her he was looking for treatment for a knee injury, officials said. The therapist told the man they do not treat knees, and he left shortly after.
Shortly afterward, multiple physical therapists reported their bank cards were missing from their purses and wallets and noticed they had fraudulent charges on their stolen cards, officials said.
Dig deeper:
Officials identified Thompson as a suspect in the burglary. According to the sheriff's office, Thompson has at least eight prior burglary convictions and served time in prison.
Detectives identified him as a member of a larger nationwide burglary crew that specifically targeted businesses during business hours.
Officials said that once inside, the theft crew would work together to steal bank cards from employees' unintended wallets and purses, and once they had them in their possession, immediately make the fraudulent purchases.
By the numbers:
Thompson, Buffin, and a third unnamed suspect were arrested on Wednesday in Oakland, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office.
In addition to the Mill Valley burglary, Thompson was arrested for a $200,000 burglary warrant out of Washington, according to officials.
Buffin was arrested on a $150,000 theft warrant from Washington. The third suspect had a non-extraditable $100,000 warrant, officials said.
Buffin and Thompson were booked into the Marin County Jail.