11 Arrested, Four Wanted In Local Area Vehicle Theft Ring

Suspects arrested include Thomas Hernandez, Raymond Gonzales, Katia M. Alvarado, Mariano D. Lopez, Gerald Deegan, Shane Toseland, Tiffanie Ledesma, Edward McCrimmon, Michael Sartor, Grace Barrett, and Victor M. Vergara.

Law enforcement officials in the Long Beach, South East Los Angeles County area have arrested several suspects involved in a complex vehicle theft ring.

On June 13, 2013, detectives from the Taskforce for Regional Autotheft Prevention (TRAP), a task force consisting of deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and officers from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Southern Division, Long Beach Police Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department, conducted an arrest operation throughout the City of Long Beach.

A nine month joint investigation culminated in the identification of fifteen suspects committing vehicle thefts, auto burglaries, and receiving stolen property. This criminal organization was responsible for stealing work vans from plumbers, painters, landscapers, and construction workers, which contained thousands of dollars of tools and equipment. These suspects would in-turn offload the stolen tools and equipment, sell the stolen vans, and in some cases chop up the stolen vehicles and sell them as scrap metal.

There were over 25 vehicles recovered with many of the vehicles being stolen out of the South Bay area, which include Long Beach, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, as well as Lakewood, Norwalk, Paramount and even Las Vegas.

Suspects wanted are Robert Madia, Adam Kim, Byran Godinez, and Willie Bartsman

A majority of the suspects were homeless and resided in central and north Long Beach. Eleven suspects were arrested and four are wanted by authorities.

Arrested were:
Thomas Hernandez, Raymond Gonzales, Katia M. Alvarado, Mariano D. Lopez, Gerald Deegan, Shane Toseland, Tiffanie Ledesma, Edward McCrimmon, Michael Sartor, Grace Barrett, and Victor M. Vergara.

Wanted are: Robert Madia, Adam Kim, Byran Godinez, and Willie Bartsman

The combined work and effort of these law enforcement agencies netted two groups, which were connected in their criminal enterprise. By combining resources and manpower TRAP focused their investigation on four individuals, while CHP simultaneously concentrated their investigation on the other eleven individuals. By the end of this investigation 55 felony counts were filed with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office.

The success of this operation is accredited to the collaborative partnership of these agencies working jointly in identifying and apprehending these suspects.
The Taskforce for Regional Autotheft Prevention (TRAP) was established in 1993 under the direction of the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee (CCJCC) with the Sheriff designated as the Regional Coordinator. The task force consists of regional investigative teams from various law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County. TRAP’s mission is to reduce the incidents of auto theft countywide by coordinating a deterrence, investigation, and prosecutorial program with all criminal justice agencies, and private sector business leaders.

For more information please contact TRAP Detective Turpen at (626)350-4528, or CHP Investigator J. Eberhart at (323) 644-9550.

–Source: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

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