My car got stolen a month ago.. i REALLY REALLY HATE THESE F!CKERS.. I am keeping this as a thread to keep all the news articles in Central Florida about stolen cars... please post if you find one that I dont post
New Article - 5/22/07
Police: Bait Car Method Catches Thieves - News Story - WESH Orlando
A surveillance tape shows how deputies planted a camera in a car to bait potential car thieves, and when the suspect took the bait, the camera inside shows police the entire theft.
The tape shows Jonathan Mercado, 20, hot-wire the car in seconds and seem to celebrate his steal.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in the first six months of 2006, it received more than 7,000 car theft reports.
Investigators said 3,600 of those were reported in Orange County and that of the 7,000 reports, they made about 1,100 arrests.
Officials said Mercardo faces several criminal charges including grand theft, possession of burglary tools and possession of cocaine.
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Article 5/16/07
10-Year-Old Among Alleged Car Thieves Caught In DeLand - News Story - WFTV Orlando
Deland Police setting up decoys. The following was taken from WFTV:
10-Year-Old Among Alleged Car Thieves Caught In DeLand
POSTED: 5:21 pm EDT May 16, 2007
DELAND, Fla. -- DeLand police caught 12 suspected car thieves. The youngest was only 10 years old.
Police believe Jermont Guilford, Dontay Reddick and several others were responsible for a series of car thefts in DeLand this week.
Two of the suspects were arrested in a bait car operation on Monday.
Investigators said they tried to steal a car that deputies had set up as a decoy.
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Article - 5/16/07
Police: Ring Of Thieves Targeting Honda Vehicles In Central Florida - Local News Story - WKMG Orlando
Police: Ring Of Thieves Targeting Honda Vehicles In Central Florida
POSTED: 11:18 pm EDT May 15, 2007
UPDATED: 9:18 am EDT May 16, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A ring of car thieves in southeastern Orange County, Fla., is being blamed for the theft of hundreds of Honda vehicles in recent months, according to investigators.
Police said gang members are apparently driving around the streets in zip codes 32803 and 32807, searching for vehicles to steal.
"There is an average of four or five cars (stolen) a night when they go out and steal cars," Orlando police Detective Juan Gonzalez said. "You have your Crips, you got your Bloods and Latin Kings."
Recently, Christopher Marrero, 16, was arrested on suspicion of stealing vehicles.
Marrero admitted to stealing more than 60 Honda cars -- himself, Gonzalez said.
The cars being targeted are Honda Accords and Civics, according to the report.
"I would say (car owners) have an 85 percent chance the vehicle is gong to get stolen," Gonzalez said.
Police said 338 Honda vehicles have been stolen since the middle of last year in the county, the report said.
Anyone with information concerning these crimes is urged to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
DOES ANYONE KNOW THIS GUY OR HAVE ANY INFO ON WHO HE HANGS OUT WITH?
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Article 3/21/07
Teen Confesses To Stealing More Than 170 Hondas - News Story - WFTV Orlando
Teen Confesses To Stealing More Than 170 Hondas
POSTED: 6:02 pm EDT March 21, 2007
UPDATED: 6:19 pm EDT March 21, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. -- He was all smiles walking out of juvenile court Wednesday, but half-an-hour later he was back in handcuffs. Detectives told Channel 9 that the 15-year-old confessed to stealing at least 170 cars.
Wednesday night the teen was back in the juvenile detention center because of a phone call from Eyewitness News. Channel 9 called detectives to ask about Ramon Vigoa while he was still sitting at the juvenile courthouse. That's when it was learned that they were already looking for him on another charge.
"There are several case numbers here; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 I think," a judge said.
And there were actually many more than that. Honda after Honda after Honda were stolen and he was responsible. And 15-year-old Vigoa isn't even old enough to drive.
"He's a very big auto thief. Right now we're up to about 170 auto thefts he's confessed to," said Det. Bill Bartlett of the Orange County Sheriff's Office Auto Theft Unit.
But the judge had to release the teen even though his mom said he violated his curfew. He was all smiles leaving the courthouse, until Channel 9 followed him and told detectives where he was. The auto theft unit wasted no time arresting him for the fourth time.
"He's been very difficult to catch as I said. Right now his name has popped up in a lot of auto theft investigations, so we definitely like to do what we can to make sure he doesn't get out to steal more vehicles," Bartlett said.
Orlando police said there have been more than 300 Hondas stolen in the last nine months. They're working with the sheriff's office to see how many Vigoa is linked to. Accords and Civics have a special window clip thieves can pop out and unlock the door.
"Typical auto thieves know how to capitalize on that one little defect they made and they steal cars very easily," added Bartlett.
Andres Tolosa knows that because his Honda was stolen a few months ago.
"I couldn't believe it. It's an old car and I didn't even know it's one of the top ten most stolen cars. I was surprised," Tolosa said.
Not as surprised as Vigoa, who thought he caught a lucky break in court.
Detectives said he'll be talking to the judge in the coming days and there could be even more charges as they try to link him to even more cases.
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Other Stolen Vehicle Posts from Central Florida
Honda-Tech.com: Forced Induction: ORLANDO FLORIDA, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THIS VEHICLE
https://www.tamparacing.com/for....html
Modified by bzyrice at 9:23 PM 5/23/2007
Modified by bzyrice at 8:08 PM 5/24/2007