Thread: ESCONDIDO CAR THEFT RING : ILLEGAL ALIENS?

I will follow this story closely as I am willing to bet that all 17 of the suspects have Hispanic Surnames, and at least half of them are Illegal Aliens
R/ Skip


Task force nets car thief suspects

By: North County Times

SAN DIEGO ---- The San Diego County district attorney and the Regional Auto Theft Task Force Tuesday announced an indictment of 17 auto theft suspects that targeted the North County area.

The four-month long undercover operation was called "Operation Northern Exposure," said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

Of the 17 indictments, 13 of those people are in custody and will face arraignment Wednesday, and four suspects are at large, Dumanis said. Most of the suspects had a criminal history for auto theft already, she said.


RATT Capt. Lisa Wrobel said many of the suspects were from the Escondido area but they targeted the entire North County area. Undercover RATT officers purchased 24 stolen vehicles from the suspects, she said.

Escondido police Capt. Holly Merkel said the RATT investigation coupled with the police department's own special details have resulted in a 9 percent decrease in auto thefts in the city compared to last year.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11 ... _28_06.txt

Undercover operation busts North County car theft suspects

By Joe Hughes
SAN DIEGO
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

11:31 a.m. November 28, 2006

SAN DIEGO – A four-month undercover operation infiltrating suspected North County auto thieves has resulted in the indictment of 17 people and the recovery of 19 stolen vehicles, District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis announced Tuesday.
Dubbed Operation Northern Exposure, the operation by the county's Regional Auto Theft Task Force ran from June to September. It involved the purchase of mostly stolen Asian-made cars made between 1988 and 1992. Detectives also bought a $36,000 Dodge truck and a tractor-trailer rig valued at more than $50,000.

Dumanis said the undercover detectives would gather information on who has stolen cars for sale, show up and buy them.
In making the announcement, Dumanis emphasized the indictments were just the start of a continuing crackdown on auto-thieves that impact the entire county.

“Auto theft is one of the crimes you and I are concerned about,” Dumanis said. “With the Christmas season, and people out shopping, we will be out there, too. Auto thieves should be on notice we are coming after them.”

California Highway Patrol Capt. Lisa Wrobel, who commands the task force, said many of the defendants are convicted auto thieves who had stolen multiple vehicles.

The ringleader was identified as Jose Alejandro Zamora, 25, a transient, who was indicted for five sales of stolen autos. He was already in custody, convicted in two cases of auto theft and attempted auto theft.

Of the 17 defendants, seven have convictions for auto theft or receiving stolen vehicles. Eleven have previously been convicted of a felony. And one defendant has been to prison five times, the last time for burglarizing a home and stealing Christmas presents.

The defendants face maximum sentences ranging from three years to 11 years. Each faces a fine ranging from $200 to $10,000.

The defendants were arrested in Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Sun City. Four are still at large.

Most of the auto thefts occurred in the Escondido area, and Escondido police Capt. Holly Merkel said the operation has resulted in a nine per cent drop auto theft in Escondido in the past six months.

The indictments were returned by a county Grand Jury Nov. 16. Ten of the defendants are to be arraigned Nov. 29.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nort ... hefts.html
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Joe Hughes: (619) 542-4591; joe.hughes@uniontrib.com

Bush was right, they just want to do jobs Americans won't do. A good example most of us have never stolen a car or robbed a house of Christmas presents. I wonder how many of the ones who have served prison sentences are illegal. Most I'd bet.

This is nothing new. It happens in Miami as well. There have been illegals who stole cars for ring leaders.

Did you see the article in the Miami Herald with Tom Tancredo calling Miami a third world nation? I tried copying it, but it would not transfer(?)
The politicians are saying that they are just culturally diverse. How about culturally diverse with a rap sheet!

Skip,

Call the jail and ask about their immigration status. The information officer should be able to help you. You can also try e-mailing.

Dixie

Neese I saw that article about Miami being a third world nation. He referred to crime but I don't totally agree with the crime part. Most of the homicides this year were African Americans killing African Americans and that was drug or gang related in Miami Dade County Police jurisdiction. The actual city of Miami may be different. I don't know their stats.

I will see if I can post it. I can only give you the website for it.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/16110727.htm

Don't they have a huge drug problem there?

And most all of those stolen cars were sent to Mexico no doubt. I am surprised the Escondido Police Dept. actually did a car theft sting, most police depts. here in San Diego totally ignore car thefts. When my truck was stolen a few years back, by an illegal alien from Mexico, of course, the SDPD officer handling the case said they don't allocate resources to try to catch the thefs, there are just too many to bother with and Mexico is no help. And when they found my truck in Barrio Logan, stripped of all my custom parts and rebuilt with crap items, even though it had tools, Mexican music tapes and even a wallet with several fake IDs in the back, they refused to do fingerprints, track down the perp. or anything, they just had it hauled to a junkyard. San Diego police basically say to the car theft rings, keep it up, we won't come after you, just keep on operating with impunity.

There are over 35,000 Illegal Aliens living in escondido today.

Escondido has highest number of auto thefts

By Kristina Davis
STAFF WRITER

June 22, 2006

ESCONDIDO – Susan Tavernier never knew how emotionally attached she was to her Ford Explorer until it was stolen from her driveway in the middle of the night last month.

DON KOHLBAUER / Union-Tribune
Before this stolen Honda was found and taken to Al's Towing in Escondido, it had been in a wreck. Police enforcement is bringing down the number of auto thefts, but residents still pay more for insurance. Car thieves are particularly fond of older-model Hondas, Toyotas and Acuras.
Police officers knocked on her front door the next morning, waking her husband with the news. After car thieves snatched his wife's SUV, they wrecked it in a hit-and-run crash in Valley Center, dumping it in Escondido to evade police.

“I couldn't believe it. My husband was just staring at them,” Tavernier said. “It's devastating. You go through a lot of emotions. It was totally paid off. It got my kids back and forth to school. We used it for everything.”

The story is similar for hundreds of other residents who have been victims of car theft.


The high auto theft numbers in Escondido also mean that residents pay more for their auto insurance.

Last year, the city had the highest number of car thefts in North County and the second highest vehicle-theft rate per 1,000 residents.

But the problem isn't as bad as it used to be.

In 2004, more than 1,500 cars were stolen, ranking Escondido just below National City for the highest theft rate in San Diego County.

That number dropped by about 500 thefts in 2005, progress that police attribute to increased enforcement by patrol officers and good use of computer-generated data to map thefts and recoveries.

Through May, 450 vehicles have been reported stolen this year – about 20 a week on average.

While car thieves appear to target some neighborhoods more than others, police say no area in the city is immune from the crime.

“They're stolen from everywhere. It's real spotty,” said Escondido police Lt. David Mankin.

The car thefts do not appear to be the work of an organized car theft ring, Mankin said. Instead, local thieves steal cars primarily as a way to get around town, he said.

Some will use stolen cars to commit a crime, such as a robbery, drive-by shooting or drug run. Cars usually are dumped on the side of the street or in a parking lot within 24 to 72 hours, Mankin said.

“Some are stolen and stripped of parts and radios, but that is a very small percentage,” Mankin said.

Escondido police recover 80 percent to 84 percent of vehicles stolen in the city. Older-model Hondas, Toyotas and Acuras are the most coveted among car thieves because they are some of the easiest to steal yet have a high resale value.

“All criminals know a shaved or worn-down key works,” Mankin said. “It doesn't take a lot of sophistication.”

In San Diego County, 1991 and 1994 Honda Accords topped the list of most stolen cars in 2005.

Ford and Toyota trucks are also favorites, especially in more rural areas.

Escondido police say there is no real pattern to where criminals shop for cars to steal, though some places appear more popular than others, such as Mission Avenue and Fig Street. The neighborhood is dense with apartment buildings.
“There are so many more vehicles,” Mankin said. “Thieves target where there's a concentrated, high number.”

About a dozen vehicles were reported stolen from around that intersection within the past two months. Still, many people who live in the area said they weren't concerned and haven't recognized it as a problem.

Other hot spots in Escondido are along West Valley Parkway, Washington Avenue, Grand Avenue between Ash and Rose streets and Broadway north of Lincoln Avenue.

“Sometimes we'll see a pattern and recover vehicles within a couple of blocks,” Mankin said. “It's usually someone who lives there who is using the vehicles.”

Most cars are stolen from residential areas at night or in the early morning hours, such as in the Taverniers' case. Cars aren't usually taken from business parking lots, although records show that the 200 block of Via Rancho Parkway near the North County Fair mall has its share.

Auto dealerships also are being targeted.

In one night, thieves stole three new vehicles from a GMC dealership on Auto Park Way after breaking into the lock boxes attached to each vehicle.

A few weeks later, they hit again, taking a 2002 Jeep Cherokee.

After conducting an inventory check late last month, employees discovered an additional 13 vehicles missing from the dealership. Some of the vehicles since have been recovered after being abandoned in various parts of the city.

Police say fighting auto theft has been one of the department's top priorities in recent years. Investigators meet twice each month to go over computer-generated data that can pinpoint trends.

“We track where vehicles are taken from and where they are recovered so officers can pay attention to those areas,” Mankin said. “It helps us use our resources better.”

Detectives then can plan undercover assignments for those areas and patrol officers can increase enforcement.

At the beginning of each shift, officers are handed a list of vehicles that were stolen recently from all over North County, so they can keep their eyes peeled.

Many officers recognize that a heightened level of danger comes with hunting for stolen cars. Car thieves are often repeat offenders who don't want to go back to jail. Sometimes they are armed.

An estimated 40 percent to 60 percent are under the influence of some type of narcotic.

“Our gang members are heavily involved in the crime,” Mankin said.

So when thieves see the red-and-blue lights flashing behind them, it's not surprising that many end up in high-speed pursuits or use violence against police.

Mankin said of this year's stolen car cases, 20 percent have ended in arrests.

The department has worked with the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task Force, which investigates larger operations such as chop shops and car theft rings.

The high rate of car thefts translates into higher insurance rates for many Escondido residents.

The average premium in Escondido for a married couple with no violations or accidents on their record is about $2,250, according to calculations from six top insurance agencies.

Many other North County cities are $100 to $200 cheaper.

Candysee Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California, said the likelihood of auto theft, vehicle crashes and lawsuits all factor into auto insurance premiums from city to city.

Many insurance companies will offer discounts if drivers install a tracking device or engine-disabling system that could prevent a theft.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib ... tolen.html