Merced police arrest Sacramento man in connection with September home invasion robbery

Merced police officers on Friday arrested a Sacramento man, suspected of being involved in a home invasion and robbery in which a woman was beaten.

In a news release, the Merced Police Department said that Alexis Vega-Higareda, 26, — who was already in custody in Sacramento County — was arrested on suspicion of committing the home invasion in September.

Officers were called just before 12:15 p.m. on Sept. 11 to a home on Kingsland Avenue in Merced after someone reported hearing screams from a woman.

The officers found the woman in the backyard, tied up and “severely beaten,” according to police. Items had also been stolen from inside her home.

Merced police detectives said there were two perpetrators: Vega-Higareda and another person whose identity is still unknown. The motive behind the home invasion remains under investigation.

Vega-Higareda is in custody at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, according to Sacramento County jail records.

Sacramento County court records show that Vega-Higareda pleaded no contest in December 2020 to concealing a weapon inside a vehicle and to accessory after the fact. He was initially sentenced to five years probation, but court records show that he violated his probation in late September.

He was arrested by probation officers on a warrant and booked into the Rio Cosumnes Correction Center on Oct. 7, according to jail records.

Merced police arrested him on suspicion of home invasion, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. The Police Department said that he will be transferred to the Merced County Jail after he is released from Sacramento County custody. His projected release date is Dec. 20, according to Sacramento County jail records.

This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 1:36 PM.