Car Thefts Take Big Drop in County’s 4 Largest Cities

Caught in the act, Victor Aguiar found out firsthand how harshly Ventura County deals with car thieves.

From the carefully crafted sting operation that nabbed Aguiar in Oxnard last year to the kind of aggressive prosecution that landed him in state prison for 16 months, Ventura County has taken a hard line against car thieves, and it shows, officials said.

Along with an increase in the number of prosecuted cases in the first half of this year, there was a huge drop in the number of vehicles stolen in the county’s four largest cities during the same period.

For instance, car theft in the city of Ventura plunged more than 40%, from 244 in the first half of 1996 to 145 in the first six months of this year, according to a report released last week by the California Department of Justice. That report covered only cities with populations over 100,000.

In Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, nearly 33% fewer cars were stolen during the same period; Oxnard reported a 9.3% decline. California as a whole also showed a 9.3% drop in motor vehicle thefts, the report said.

“The biggest change is in prosecution,” said Det. Tom Bennett, who investigates car thefts for the Sheriff’s Department in eastern Ventura County. “They’re putting these guys in jail.”

And investigators added that a few key arrests can also make a big difference in the numbers.

“We had a group of guys out near Simi Valley that were just notorious for years,” Bennett said.

But after a weeks-long investigation, authorities broke up the car theft ring last November. In a junk-strewn ranch off Black Canyon, investigators found 16 stolen vehicles, some already stripped of parts and with their vehicle identification numbers filed off.

“If you can take down a shop like that, you can make a big difference in the number of cars being stolen in an area,” Bennett said.

Among the vehicles recovered at the ranch were several Chevy trucks and a tractor. The thieves were interchanging the bodies of the cars and putting on “clean VINs”--new 17-digit vehicle identification numbers.

Bennett said that along with Chevy trucks like the ones found at the so-called “chop shop” off Black Canyon, the most popular cars stolen in Ventura County are Buick Regals and Oldsmobile Cutlasses from the mid-1970s and early 1980s, as well as late model Toyota trucks.

The motivation for stealing cars is as varied as the makes of cars stolen, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Redmond, who supervises the felony unit for the district attorney’s office.

‘We’ve prosecuted everything from people out for joy rides to thieves that are part of sophisticated, organized, almost business-like operations that steal specific vehicles or specific vehicle parts,” Redmond said.

In the first seven months of this year, 33 people have been tried and convicted on vehicle theft charges by county prosecutors, compared with 22 people during the same period last year, he said.

“We hope they realize that if you steal a car in Ventura County, we will aggressively come after you, and if we catch you, there’s a good chance you’re going to serve time in prison,” Redmond said.

When compared with last year’s convictions, car thieves caught and convicted so far this year are also more likely to serve time in prison, he said.

There was a 7% increase in the number of convicted car thieves from Ventura County who wound up serving time in state prison, Redmond said. Depending on a thief’s record, when convicted of stealing cars, he or she has a 50-50 chance of getting either prison or probation. The maximum penalty is three years in state prison.

For the last five years, the district attorney has assigned a single prosecutor to work only on vehicle thefts, Redmond said. In addition, the prosecutor has the help of a district attorney investigator, he said.

“It has made a difference over time, because the prosecutor gets to know the investigators and they learn what is needed on these cases,” Redmond said.

Simi Valley police also credit aggressive prosecution with helping to reduce the number of vehicle thefts in their city, where 93 cars were stolen in the first half of 1997, compared with 138 during the same period last year.

“Yeah, it makes a difference,” said Police Det. Gene Hostetler, who has been investigating car thefts since 1989. “These guys aren’t getting off with just a hand slap anymore.”

And that’s how it should be, Hostetler said.

“Let’s face it: A car costs a lot of money these days,” he said. “It’s a big investment for people and when one is stolen it can have a great impact.”

The average value of a stolen car is more than $5,000, according to the FBI. And although the number of car thefts in the U.S. has dropped by more than 17% in the last five years, nationwide the dollar loss because of car theft adds up to about $7.5 billion.

Police say that thefts are often crimes of opportunity because people either leave their keys in their cars or leave their cars running while they run errands.

“But generally people are more aware, and they protect their vehicle from those kinds of crimes of opportunity,” Hostetler said.

And then there are those like Fermin Ruelas, a 19-year-old Los Angeles man who twice stole cars in Simi Valley simply because he needed a ride home, Hostetler said.

Ruelas, who had no previous criminal record and was not involved in a car theft ring, recently pleaded guilty to auto theft charges and was put on probation for the thefts.

To combat crimes of opportunity, the district attorney’s office uses a so-called “bait car” for sting operations.

The car, which was also used to nab Aguiar in April 1996, is equipped with a video camera and can record car thefts.

In Aguiar’s case, the car was parked at night on a street in south Oxnard with the keys in the ignition and the indoor light on.

Aguiar and some friends walked by the car, saw the keys still in the vehicle and decided to steal it. The video records them talking about stealing the car, and records them rummaging through the glove box and trying to look into the trunk of the car. It also shows them trying to wipe off their fingerprints.

At one point Aguiar says to his friends, “Watch, I’m going to take it,” despite the protests of a girl who worries that he will get caught.

Aguiar jumps in the car, covers his hands--presumably so that he leaves no prints--starts the car and drives away. Less than a minute later he is stopped by police and the camera records the shock in his face as he is arrested.

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Auto Thefts

Auto thefts reported for Ventura County’s four largest cities from January through June in 1996 and 1997:

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City Auto thefts Oxnard 1996 453 1997 411 % change -9.3 Simi Valley 1996 138 1997 93 % change -32.6 Thousand Oaks 1996 146 1997 98 % change -32.9 Ventura 1996 244 1997 145 % change -40.6

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Source: California Department of Justice