2 accused in high-tech vehicle thefts in Texas


BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, 8:30 p.m. Updated 7 minutes ago

Two men jailed in Houston are accused of using a laptop computer and pirated software to steal more than 100 vehicles.

Michael Arce, 24, and Jesse Zelaya, 22, targeted new Jeep and Dodge vehicles, which attract big money on the black market in Mexico, authorities said. The men allegedly used a laptop computer to reprogram the vehicles' electronic security systems so their key would work.

“As you get more and more computers installed in vehicles, if somebody has that knowledge and that ability, they can turn around and figure out a way to manipulate the system,” Houston police Officer Jim Woods said.

The stolen vehicles had common software that is used by auto technicians and dealers, he said.

“If someone has turned around and pirated that software and uses that software for other, illegal purposes, that's something we can't control,” Woods said.

Berj Alexanian, a spokesman for Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps and Dodges, said the company and police are investigating how the thieves obtained access to a computerized database of codes used by Fiat Chrysler dealers, locksmiths and independent auto repair shops to replace lost key fobs. He said the code database is used nationally and includes vehicles in areas outside of Houston, but he wasn't aware of similar thefts elsewhere.

We're looking at every and all solutions to make sure our customers can safely and without thinking park their vehicles,” Alexanian said Friday.

The company is looking at how to better secure the database and other potential solutions, but any steps would have to be tested and validated, he said — meaning Fiat Chrysler vehicles could remain vulnerable.

The company is recommending that vehicles always be locked and parked in a secure place.

That might not be enough, according to Woods.

“No matter what you do, if somebody has the ability and the knowledge to steal your car, they're going to be able to take it,” he said.

Arce and Zelaya, who each have criminal records, were arrested last weekend while driving a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee. Police reported recovering electronic devices, keys and other tools believed to be used in the vehicle thefts, along with drugs, firearms and body armor.

Arce's lawyer, Joe Ray Rodriguez, said it is too early in his review of the case to discuss it and that he is awaiting evidence that shows how Arce — who he said was accused of stealing one vehicle — could be tied to more than 100 thefts.

Arce remains jailed without bond on charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle, felony possession of a weapon and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. He is set for a court appearance Aug. 26.

Zelaya does not have an attorney, according to court records. He's being held on $500,000 bond on a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle and is due in court Wednesday.

Authorities began investigating in late May after the theft of a Jeep Wrangler near downtown Houston. Leads in that case had been exhausted when investigators received information from Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers about vehicles being stolen using a laptop. Arce and Zelaya were then identified as suspects.

In the Jeep Wrangler theft, which was caught on surveillance video, the suspect got under the hood, cut wires to the horn to disable an alarm, then got inside the SUV. He then used the database and the vehicle identification number to program a new key fob for the Jeep, authorities said.

“The car thinks, ‘Here's my owner,' and they just drive away,” Alexanian said.

Authorities believe the vehicles, which typically were stolen during the night, were headed to Mexico before owners even realized they had been taken.

 2 accused in high-tech vehicle thefts in Texas