Last November, when an 18-year-old man confronted a group of people trying to steal a jeep parked on San Pablo’s Bush Avenue, one of the thieves pulled out a pistol and opened fire, killing the teenage man. said to have injured him.
The near-murder case is the culmination of an increasingly violent Newark-based car thief gang that police are involved in, including dozens of expensive car thefts, multiple high-speed police chases and a chop shop operation. The shop operator gave the car a new vehicle identification number, reprogrammed the key fob and sold it at a cash discount. On at least one occasion, one of his vehicles was again stolen from a buyer, officials said.
The group has been under investigation since last June when Newark police launched an investigation into a series of car thefts believed to have been committed by the same group. Nearly all of the reported thefts were of Dodge Challengers, Dodge Chargers or Jeep Cherokees, officials said.
Four men now — Alexander Echeverria, 20 years old. Alexander Martinez, 21 years old. Eduardo Garcia Perez, 20 years old. and Jose Torres Flores, 26, have been charged with assault with a semi-automatic firearm in Contra Costa County. Echeverria and Garcia-Perez also face multiple felony charges related to alleged car theft in Alameda County. In the assault case, their bail was set for him at $660,000, records show.
The group was arrested last week during a series of raids, and police seized 17 vehicles worth an estimated $1 million, adding to the list of six stolen vehicles recovered last year, along with bulletproof vests, firearm silencers and 12 other vehicles. Ding’s gun was seized. Authorities said some of the weapons and armor were stolen from the vehicle.
Police believe all are part members or associates of the Norteño gang based on Newark’s Bain Avenue. However, they traveled the Bay Area to San Pablo, Morgan Hill, Berkeley, Livermore, Union City and Newark, looking for a car that met their criteria.
A 2018 Dodge Charger with three guns and a bulletproof vest in its trunk was stolen on June 20, police said. By July, two of his cars, a 2016 Dodge Charger and his 2017 Dodge Charger, were added to a list of car thefts associated with the group. Garcia Perez was suspected of being the mastermind behind the theft, and one of the vehicles contained a forged DMV registration card in the name of one of his cousins, officials said.
Last August 5th, when three alleged auto thieves were thwarted from trying to steal a Jeep Cherokee in Union City, they came up with an unexpected consolation prize. instead of. According to police, the charger contained two of his Airpods with his GPS sensor, indicating he was driving towards Baine Avenue.
The car was recovered but with major damage to the front. According to police, it was spray-painted with Norteño graffiti tags.
A week later, when Newark cops tried to pull it over, a stolen Dodge (another theft police believed to belong to the group) with a stolen paper plate was found on an interstate highway. I evaded the police on Route 880. Just two weeks later, he sped off after getting into his Challenger, a Dodge stolen by three robbers, robbing a man of his Rolex watch in Palo Alto. No one has been charged in the incident, but police believe members of the same ring are responsible.
Members of the group allegedly evaded police several times during a police chase on October 27, including when a 1995 Honda crashed into a highway 84 guardrail and three occupants got out of the vehicle and fled. there is. Police said there were three phones in the car, one of which was in contact with another car theft suspect.