Stolen Car Returned With Body in Trunk, Man Says

After police returned a stolen car to its owner, the East Los Angeles man said he found a body in the trunk, authorities reported Saturday.

Sheriff’s Deputy Cruz Solis said the dead man, identified as 22-year-old Mark Jaimes of South Gate, had been reported missing Nov. 10.

Jaimes had been shot multiple times and his body shoved into the trunk of the Buick Park Avenue, Solis said.

The car, which had been reported stolen earlier in the week, was recovered at 6 p.m. Friday by a Maywood police officer in East Los Angeles, Solis said. He added that the vehicle was returned to its owner, whom police would not identify. The man, who authorities said is not a suspect, drove his car home, only to find the body about 7:45 p.m., Solis said.

After driving to the nearby East Los Angeles sheriff’s station, the man told deputies at the front desk: “I think you guys want to go out and look at my trunk.”

Maywood police said Saturday that officers did not open the trunk before the car was returned because there was nothing suspicious about it and they would have had to damage a lock to gain access.

“It was a 1985 or 1986 Buick,” said Maywood Police Sgt. Dennis Azevedo. “They don’t have a trunk release. The only way we could get into there would have been to break the lock, and we don’t like to damage a car.”

He added: “There was no smell coming from the trunk. As you know, it has been quite cold lately.”

Jaimes was identified after detectives located a missing-person poster and realized it matched the description of the victim found in the trunk, Solis said.