Auto Burglary Ring Broken Up; 6 Held

An auto burglary ring that specialized in taking expensive stereo systems has been broken with the arrests of five teen-agers after they allegedly broke into cars in Santa Clarita, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported Wednesday.

A resident near Whites Canyon Road and Stillmore Street called the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and reported that his car had just been broken into and a stereo stolen, Sgt. Dick Young said.

The victim gave deputies a description of a car that he had seen pull away from his home, and two patrol cars were sent to the neighborhood. A short time later, deputies arrested Jim Ngo and Binh Chau, both 18, and three 17-year-old youths on suspicion of burglary.

Stereos stolen from two cars in the neighborhood were found in the car belonging to the suspects, all of whom live in the San Gabriel Valley, Young said.

Deputies recovered a homemade master key for unlocking Toyotas and a variety of suspected stolen merchandise, including 33 car-stereo systems, in the suspects’ homes in Monterey Park, Alhambra, La Puente and Rosemead, Young said. The value of the merchandise was estimated at more than $30,000, Young said.

At a home in Monterey Park, Chau’s 22-year-old brother, Alex, was also arrested on suspicion of burglary and receiving stolen property, authorities said. The three adults were being held in lieu of $5,000 bail each at the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station jail, while the other suspects were turned over to juvenile authorities.

Investigators spent most of Wednesday attempting to match the stereo equipment with burglary reports. Young said the suspects had been linked to car burglaries in the Santa Clarita Valley that took place a week before their arrests.