Teen Auto Ring Stole Parts to Fill Orders, Police Say

Five teen-agers accused this week of a series of auto thefts and burglaries are members of a gang who took orders for car parts and accessories from high school students before going out and stealing the items, authorities said Thursday.

“They would take orders at high schools from other gang members and students,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Palmieri. “They would say, ‘I’m going out tonight; is there anything you want?’ Then they’d go out shopping for it.”

The suspects, ages 16 and 17, stole mostly car stereos and phones and other expensive accessories, which they would then sell to acquaintances for as little as one-quarter of their value, Palmieri said.

“One of the suspects said he made $3,000 off of property he stole in a 30-day period,” Palmieri said.

The investigation began Tuesday night after two of the suspects, both 16, were arrested in the Santa Clarita Valley after being chased in a stolen car. One of the youths was shot in the right foot by a sheriff’s sergeant at the end of the chase when he made a move with his hands that the deputy believed was an attempt to raise a gun, authorities said. The other three suspects, all 17, were arrested the next day at Monroe High School.

Palmieri said the suspects, who live in Sepulveda and Tarzana, admitted that they are members of a gang of mostly Filipino youths called the Tropang Hudas, which generally translates to mean “the troop associated with the devil.”

The teen-ager who was shot in the foot is believed to be the leader of the gang and is suspected in as many as 80 car burglaries in the San Fernando Valley in the last month, Palmieri said. He and the other youths are suspects in at least four car thefts and two home burglaries, Palmieri said.

“They are acknowledging what they have been doing,” Palmieri said. “They are bragging about it, showing off.”

Four of the suspects have been released to the custody of their parents, while the youth who was shot remains at County-USC Medical Center.

Palmieri said three of the suspects have previous juvenile records. He said they told investigators that they planned to stop their criminal activities when each reached 18.

“They said that they had all made an agreement that they were going to stop then because they would be adults and treated as adults if they got arrested,” Palmieri said.