Operation Flight Back Scores Its First Victory as Witness Returns to Testify

Even though police had caught the thief who last month stole Leroy Johnson’s credit card, chances were the case would have been dismissed unless the Washington state man could return to testify.

But Johnson said Monday he was not sure whether the Washington Department of Natural Resources, which issued him the card, would have paid the plane or hotel fare necessary for him to return. The San Diego district attorney’s office probably would not have paid Johnson’s expenses, either, because the crime was considered too small.

So, the man who stole the card while Johnson was in San Diego on business would likely have gone free.

Officials Lauding Program’s Success

Until recently.

A San Diego Police Department program, dubbed Operation Flight Back, enabled Johnson to testify at the Vista trial Monday of the man accused of stealing the credit card. Officials were lauding the program’s success after Vincent Ray Garcia, 24, of Fallbrook pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, one count of car theft and one count of receiving stolen property.

“In this case, I think justice has been served,” said Johnson, a training and equipment specialist.

The case was the first to go to trial since the novel program’s start in December. Authorities say the program fills a void in the legal system that criminals have exploited: In the past, prosecutors would often not pay to bring back out-of-towners to testify for small crimes and it was rare for anyone living faraway to pay their own way back.

Now, with the cooperation of several major airlines, hotels and car-rental agencies, it will be possible to bring tourists back to testify in such crimes.

“The neat thing is there’s no cost to taxpayers,” said police spokesman Matthew Weathersby. “Everybody’s got a vested interest. The rental-car places don’t want their cars ripped off, the hotels and airlines don’t want people to go away with a negative image. From a Police Department standpoint, we get to lock bad guys up.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Brock Arstill said the case against Garcia would have failed without Johnson’s testimony and that of another out-of-towner, Robert Schurtz of Texas. Schurtz, a manager at a Houston car dealership, testified that Garcia had stolen a car from his Texas car lot on Feb. 21, Arstill said. Garcia was arrested June 10 in Encinitas.

Both Johnson and Schurtz were flown in and put up at a local hotel; the hotel and airline paid the expenses.

“It worked out well,” Arstill said. “We had everybody here. Even though it’s a crime that

doesn’t involve a lot of money, we’re still going to prosecute.”

The industries involved in the program have a one-year commitment. “At the end of the year, we’ll show them what we’ve done and ask them to renew it,” Weathersby said. It has so far proved attractive to the businesses, he said.

“Keep in mind, if you go anyplace and have a bad experience, you’re going to have a negative image of that town,” Weathersby said.

Some of the airlines include Air Canada, Korean Air, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Japan Air Lines and Mexicana. Weathersby said witnesses could be flown back to San Diego “from anywhere in the free world.”

The idea for the countywide program originated with officer Joe Navarro, who works the city’s southern division. Navarro took note of the large number of thefts of tourists occurring near the Mexican border, and also of the casual attitude of the criminals they apprehended, who knew their cases would not be prosecuted.

The program was modeled after similar operations at the Honolulu and Los Angeles international airports.