Once again, surveillance video has proven to be critical in a San Carlos police investigation – this time resulting in the arrest of a suspect in the December armed robbery of our Best Buy store.

According to detective Sgt. Marti Overton, San Carlos investigators distributed still photos of the gunman to Bay Area law enforcement agencies. One detective noticed that the suspect resembled a man in a wanted photo from another jurisdiction, for a different crime.

San Carlos officers then obtained a $1 million arrest warrant and the suspect, Anthony Byrd, 24, was arrested at his East Bay home on Sunday by Hayward Police. San Carlos detectives searched the residence and found numerous pieces of suspected stolen electronic items, including flat screen TVs, computers and gaming consoles, said Overton.

On the evening of Dec. 29, the robber entered the Best Buy store at San Carlos Marketplace on Industrial Road, loaded a cart with selected items from the shelves and headed for the rear exit. When he was confronted by a store employee, the man brandished a handgun and made his escape.

Faced with a 25 percent rise in major crimes in the city during 2009, San Carlos Police have chalked up a series of key arrests lately. The department has a clearance rate of 75 percent for violent crimes – nearly twice the California average. And just a few weeks ago, police cracked what they believe was a highly organized burglary ring after a house in the Oak Creek area (upper Eaton) was entered and $30,000 worth of goods was stolen.

These successes come as the city council is considering a city staff recommendation to dissolve the police department and outsource all law enforcement functions to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department.