Authorities in San Mateo County have arrested a man on multiple charges after an attempted burglary at the Stanford National Accelerator Laboratory over the weekend.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were called to the lab on the 2500 block of Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park on Sunday around 8:30 p.m. after reports of a suspicious person with bolt cutters. Officers received a description of the suspect and his last known whereabouts at the large property, which covers more than 1,000 acres in the hills of San Mateo County.
During the search, officers located the suspect as he attempted to flee on foot toward Interstate 280.
Deputies set up a perimeter. With the assistance of a K-9 unit, the suspect was found hiding in heavy brush and taken into custody.
A search was also conducted in the area, where burglary tools were found. Officers said the fence where the suspect was first located was also damaged.
The suspect, identified as 46-year-old Ronald D. Simpson of Castro Valley, was arrested and booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City on suspicion of attempted burglary, vandalism, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest. Deputies said there were also two outstanding theft-related warrants for his arrest.
Simpson is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, according to jail records.
Founded in 1962, the laboratory features a particle accelerator measuring more than 3 kilometers (1.90 miles), one of the longest buildings in the world.
CBS News Bay Area has reached out to Stanford University for comment.
