Federal and state law enforcement authorities said they have broken up a sophisticated auto-theft ring run by a Tijuana-based motorcycle club that swiped 150 Jeep Wranglers in San Diego County over the past several years.
The Jeeps were later sold in Mexico or stripped for parts that were then sold in Mexico, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Conover said at a Tuesday news conference at the federal building in downtown San Diego. Total value of the vehicles stolen was $4.5 million.
Nine members of The Hooligans bikers club were indicted in the scheme and face charges of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles in foreign commerce.
Three men were arrested Tuesday — one at a Spring Valley home, another was already in state custody on other charges and a third was arrested at the San Ysidro border crossing.
Six other men remain fugitives in Mexico, Conover said. Of the nine people named in the indictment, seven are U.S. citizens, though the club is based in and operates in Mexico.
Authorities said the thieves exploited a design feature of the Jeep Wrangler, gained access to a proprietary database that contains codes used to create duplicate keys for each car and then used a high-tech computer to get away with the cars.
The investigation, which authorities dubbed “Operation Last Ride,” began during the summer of 2014 following a series of Jeep thefts across the county. Prosecutors said law enforcement gained a huge break when a homeowner’s security system captured the theft of the owner’s car on tape.
Conover said the Jeeps are pricey, popular in Mexico and easy to resell there. The starting price for a 2017 Jeep Wrangler is about $28,000.
Here’s how the scheme worked, according to the indictment and a search warrant filed as part of the investigation:
Thieves would target a Jeep in a San Diego neighborhood, getting the critical vehicle identification number. Armed with that, they accessed the key database, which contained two special codes: one for creating a pattern to make a new key and the second that programmed a computer chip in the key that was linked to the car’s computer system.
It’s not precisely clear how the thieves got access to the database, but a car dealership in Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja peninsula appears to be involved.
Investigators checked with Chrysler, which manufactures Jeeps, and were told at least 20 requests for duplicate keys for cars that were later stolen came from the dealership.
Citing the ongoing investigation, Conover and other authorities declined to identify that dealership and discuss its role in greater detail.
Armed with the duplicate key, the thieves would travel across the border to San Diego County to the targeted vehicle, usually in the middle of the night.
The Jeep Wrangler has two latches on the outside of its hood, which allows access to the engine. The thieves exploited that unique design, popping the hood and quickly cutting the wires for the horn and the front flashing lights. They would unlock the door with the duplicate key, put the key into the ignition and then use a handheld computer key programmer to connect to the car’s computer.
Using the second code obtained from the database, the thieves would program the chip in the duplicate key, allowing them to operate the car.
The actual theft took only a few minutes.
The thieves were cocky about their success, according to the indictment. In an exchange on April 4, 2015, on Facebook, defendant Adan Esteban Sanchez Aguirre wrote to a co-conspirator identified as “J.C.” about a planned theft of multiple cars: “They’re going to say ‘damn hooligans,’” the indictment said.
“We’re a plague,” J.C. responded. “They can’t finish us off.”
“Mexico v. usa,” Sanchez responded.
Court records say the Hooligans used proceeds from the sales to finance various illegal activities, including selling drugs.
At first, investigators were baffled by the rash of thefts in 2014 because the Jeeps’ alarms were never triggered and there were not the usual signs of a vehicle break-in, such as broken glass where the Wrangler was parked.
Then on Sept. 26, 2014, investigators got a break. A Rancho Bernardo woman had her Jeep stolen from her home’s driveway, but a recently installed home security system was pointed there and captured the various steps of the theft — from disabling the alarms to using the computer.
In an affidavit for a search warrant, a California Highway Patrol investigator assigned to San Diego County’s Regional Auto Theft Task Force said a confidential informant who was a member of the Hooligans cooperated and provided information for the investigation.
The informant said the club is divided into two groups. One is the “Dirty 30,” which steals vehicles and sells drugs. Another section is more benign — not involved in crimes but instead “organizes activities that are designed to portray a favorable image to the community.”
Arrested in Spring Valley was Reynaldo Rodriguez, 33. Alejandro Guzman, 23, was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, and Henry Pulido was in state custody for a parole violation, said U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Kelly Thornton.
Guzman made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon and was held for a detention hearing on Thursday. Pulido and Rodriguez are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
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