San Mateo County deputies arrest Oakland man after burglary report at empty Millbrae commercial property
San Mateo County, California – A vacant storefront in Millbrae became the center of a fast-moving burglary investigation this week after a witness spotted a man entering a commercial building that was supposed to be empty.
The call came in shortly before noon on June 23, 2026, sending deputies with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office to the 100 block of Millbrae Avenue. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the report began as a suspicious-person call, but the details quickly raised concern. A witness told deputies that an unknown male suspect had gone inside the vacant commercial property and gave authorities a description.
Deputies arrived within minutes. At the building, they found an unsecured door and saw the suspect inside. What followed was a careful search of a property where officers knew someone had been, but where the person was not immediately found.
Because of the nature of the incident, deputies brought in the Sheriff’s Office Drone Unit and K-9 Unit to help clear the building. The search was systematic, but the suspect was not located at that time. Inside the property, however, deputies found multiple documents that helped investigators identify the suspect as 33-year-old Adeleke O. Ajayi of Oakland.
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Authorities said it is not known at this time whether anything was taken from the vacant building.
The case did not sit cold for long. Around 8 a.m. the next morning, June 24, deputies spotted Ajayi walking near Linden Avenue and California Drive in Millbrae. He was taken into custody without incident.
A records check brought another piece of the case into view. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Ajayi is on Post-Release Community Supervision, known as PRCS, out of Alameda County for theft-related charges.
Ajayi was arrested and booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of felony second-degree burglary under California Penal Code 460(B).
The arrest closed the immediate search, but the investigation still leaves one important question open: whether the vacant commercial property was only entered, or whether anything was stolen before deputies arrived.
