PATTERSON, Calif. -- Investigators said they broke up a car theft ring after conducting surveillance over two days on Stanislaus County's West Side. They arrested four young men and recovered nine stolen cars, finding the vehicles at locations that included a barn in Newman.
Patterson police detectives and the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force found the cars, all mid-'90s Honda Accords and Civics.
Investigators believe the suspects were working together, said deputy Royjindar Singh, a Stanislaus County Sheriff's spokesman.
About 2 p.m. Wednesday, investigators spotted one of the stolen cars parked in the 600 block of Periwinkle Drive, just south of Walnut Avenue in Newman. Singh said the investigators spotted a second stolen car parked less than a mile away near C Street and Highway 33.
The investigators followed one of the cars to a barn in the 2300 block of Villa Manucha Road in Newman. There, they arrested a 17-year-old Patterson boy who was driving. He was booked at the Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of auto theft. Sheriff's officials did not release his name because he is a minor.
At the barn, the investigators discovered three more stolen cars and arrested Jorge Gonzalez, 18, of Newman, who was removing parts from one of them, Singh said. He was arrested on suspicion of operating a chop shop and three counts each of vehicle theft and possessing a stolen vehicle.
Continuing their surveillance, authorities found a sixth stolen car parked in the 500 block of Morning Glory Drive. A few blocks south, they found Xavier Diaz, 21, of Patterson, driving the seventh stolen car near North Hartley Street and East Las Palmas Avenue, Singh said. They pulled over the car and arrested Diaz on suspicion of vehicle theft, possessing a stolen vehicle and violating probation.
Investigators found the eighth stolen car parked at Elm Avenue and Las Palmas.
About 2 p.m. Thursday, a Patterson police detective spotted the ninth stolen car on North Hartley and tried to pull over the car. Singh said the driver, later identified as Roy Jimenez, stopped the car and ran away.
A sheriff's K-9 team tracked down Jimenez, 21, of Patterson, at a home in the 500 block of Mayette Street. Jimenez was arrested on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle, resisting arrest, burglary and violating probation.
Gonzalez, Diaz and Jimenez were being held Friday afternoon at the Stanislaus County Jail. Gonzalez's bail was set at $40,000; Diaz and Jimenez each had bail set at $50,000.
Investigators ask anyone with information about the case to call Patterson police at (209) 892-5071 or Crime Stoppers at (209) 521-4636. Tipsters also can e-mail tips through the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.stancrimetips.org, or text tips to CRIMES (274637) by typing "Tip704" plus a message. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward.
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Copyright 2011 - The Modesto Bee, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
