OAKLAND — Police have been capable of find and raid a suspected chop store solely after an alleged automotive thief unwittingly led sheriff’s investigators to the positioning after a harmful automotive chase, in line with court docket information.
The Jan. 31 raid in Oakland got here two weeks after Alameda County Sheriff’s investigators tried to tug over a stolen BMW in Hayward, solely to have the motive force spin uncontrolled, drive in reverse up an onramp, then flip round and go by different automobiles in righthand lane of the freeway, authorities mentioned.
Police stopped the chase after the dangerous maneuver, however a sheriff’s airplane was nonetheless maintaining observe of the BMW. It adopted the automotive to a warehouse on the 800 block of a hundredth Avenue in Oakland, authorities mentioned. Two weeks later, a sheriff’s crew raided the situation, discovering a number of stolen trailers, a stolen fuel tanker and the BMW, which had been outfitted with flashing pink and blue lights.
Andrew Trujillo, 46, Natasha Simons, 28, and Juan Montiel, 34, now face legal prices in reference to the raid. They’ve been charged in a 19-count grievance, alleging they possessed stolen autos and resisted arrest by refusing to give up through the raid. Police say they needed to deploy tear fuel and reduce by the roof of the warehouse and into an attic house to arrest the trio.
One of many suspects, Montiel, has additionally been charged with homicide for allegedly killing 25-year-old Kody Johnston final December. That capturing arose from a dispute over a stolen automobile that had been carjacked at first of the month, in line with police.
Police described Simons as a “career criminal” and a “prolific” automotive thief who has been arrested 20 occasions since 2020. She has been concerned in two police chases previously two years, and has 4 pending different pending legal instances associated to alleged auto theft, information present.
Trujillo, the suspected driver of the BMW through the Jan. 17 chase, has 10 arrests for automotive theft-related crimes since 2018, police mentioned.
Through the raid, deputies additionally discovered shaved keys, license plates, weapons, physique armor and ammunition in almost each nook of the “heavily fortified” warehouse, police mentioned in court docket information. There was ample proof the automobiles have been being damaged down for elements, authorities say.
