Ring Recruited Teens to Steal Cars, Police Say

Police said they have cracked a prolific car theft ring in which the masterminds recruited teenagers to sneak onto new car lots and drive away Cadillacs, Fords, Porsches and Acuras.

In exchange for cash, compact discs and DVD players, more than 20 children from Santa Ana middle schools stole about 100 cars across Orange County during at least a six-month period before police arrested the three adults who allegedly ran the operation.

“They’re a very organized ring with structure and hierarchy,” said Eric Demopoulis, a Santa Ana Police Department investigator.

“It’s easy to do for the kids. They see it as a fun and exciting challenge.”

Police caught wind of the scheme in December when they came across several young teenagers driving new cars.

After several months of investigation, authorities arrested the three alleged ringleaders earlier this month.

Santa Ana residents Juan Francisco Coronel, 27, Candelario Lopez Jr., 29, and Robinson Armando Aguilar, 25, face trial later this year on charges of auto theft, receiving stolen property and possession of counterfeit Department of Motor Vehicles documents.

The men have pleaded not guilty.

Aguilar’s attorney said his client was not involved in thefts. Attorneys for the others could not be reached for comment.

20 Children Face Lesser Charges

Twenty children, mostly between 12 and 15, also were arrested but face lesser charges, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom Crofoot.

Most were released to their parents pending trial in Juvenile Court. Police said they are not gang members, just neighborhood children lured by the promise of money and gifts.

Officials aren’t sure when the ring began operating but said the three defendants started by gaining the cooperation of teenagers in their neighborhood near the Santa Ana-Tustin border.

The plan was simple: The teenagers would roam onto car lots--often during daylight hours--and look for cars they could drive off the lot.

At some dealers, keys were kept in unsecured boxes mounted on a vehicle’s door. The teenagers allegedly grabbed the keys, and when no one was looking, cruised off the lots.

Other cars were stolen as they were waiting to be washed or repaired, when the keys were still in the ignition, police said.

Employees at Ford of Orange--one of about a dozen dealerships hit--were scrambling last month when they discovered during a weekly inventory that two cars from their stock of 1,000--a Mustang and Focus--were missing. Workers checked the fleet department, service department and body shop but could not find the vehicles.

Days later, police arrived, notifying them that the cars were stolen by 12- and 14-year-old boys who took a joy ride before turning the cars over to the alleged ringleaders.

“You just don’t expect people to steal your cars and to have kids do it,” said John Rickett, 56, a sales manager.

Dealerships Have Heightened Security

In the wake of the theft, the dealership hired a security guard and asked employees to be on the lookout.

“We’re looking out for children on the lots who don’t have a reason to be here in the first place,” Rickett said.

“We’ve made everyone more aware because it just takes a moment for them to speed away. They’re smart and skilled.”

The teenagers allegedly targeted cars of all shapes and sizes, from $13,000 compacts to $70,000 luxury imports.

As the thefts continued, police said, some of the thieves bragged to classmates about their exploits; eventually, the classmates were recruited into the network.

Some teenagers would regularly ditch classes and stake out car dealerships, looking for opportunities to take cars, said Lt. Kenn Rosenberg of the Orange County Auto Theft Task Force, which aided the investigation.

Authorities have recovered 85% of the cars. Some were resold; others were stripped of their parts.

Since the arrests, officials said, the number of car thefts from Orange County dealerships has dropped significantly.

Michael Currier, a Garden Grove attorney representing one of the defendants, doesn’t see a connection and said his client is not the Fagin in this Oliver Twist story.

“While I’m pleased that auto thefts have declined, I don’t believe there’s a correlation with my client.”