How police in Southern Arizona are combatting car thefts

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — The Yuma Police Department is combating car theft this holiday season and helping to inform drivers about how to stay protected.

They say simple measures can prevent your car from being trafficked into Mexico. They say this ongoing trend affects car owners across Arizona.

“Being so close to the border, sometimes by the time the vehicle owner recognizes their car is gone it’s too late,” said Yuma Police Det. Ernesto Prieto.

Prieto is assigned to the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s vehicle theft task force, helping track down stolen cars in southern Arizona.

This year, he’s worked on 170 stolen car cases, and they’re not all from the Yuma area.

“The group of people will bring the car down from Phoenix. Another group of people here in the area will get a hold of the vehicle, swap out the plates and go down south,” said Prieto.

In a recent case, San Luis Police recovered two stolen vehicles from the Scottsdale area.

A RAM truck and Jeep Wrangler were reported stolen and were found hundreds of miles away in a Walmart parking lot in San Luis, just blocks from the border.

Prieto said these cars are often taken to Mexico, where they’re sold, which makes it impossible to recover them once they’ve crossed into Mexico.

“There are cases where we have the vehicle roaming around town and we do make an arrest on the case,” said Prieto.

Prieto said he often works on these cases with the San Luis Police Department, which recently installed a camera system to help locate these cars.

“We recently installed Fleet 3 Axon systems in most of our police fleet. It’s a camera system that serves as an automated license plate reader that will detect stolen vehicles,” said San Luis Lt. Emmanuel Botello.

Yuma police distributed about 200 steering wheel locks on Friday to combat the ongoing issue, which was donated by the local Hyundai car dealership.

Yuma resident Joaquin Camacho made sure to get his hands on one. He said he’s heard too many horror stories.

“They steal cars, take them to Mexico and sell the parts and everything. It’s hard because you pay for your car , it’s new and somebody takes it from you,” said Camacho.

Police said a visual deterrent like a steering wheel lock can keep your car from getting stolen.

“Roll up your windows, lock your doors, and park in well-lit areas. For the holidays, everyone is shopping. Put your bags in the trunk. Don’t leave any valuables in your car,” said Yuma PD’s public information officer, Cristina Fernandez.

Fernandez said car thieves look for any opportunity to steal a car, and Prieto said cars are often stolen in parking lots and gas stations.

“In the mornings people leave their vehicles running at Circle K. They go in for coffee and when they come out their car is gone. It happens all the time,” said Prieto.

Prieto said they are working to get more locks donated for residents in the San Luis area.

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