Gang Task Force arrest man with stolen truck

By XAVIER ZARAGOZA
The Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Saturday, October 25, 2008 3:06 PM MDT


The GITEM Gang Task Force arrested a Tucson man near the border in Douglas with a stolen truck.


David Bustamante Banuelo, 19, was arrested with no incident on 5th Street and Pan American on Oct. 20, said Brian Preston, a Sergeant for the State Gang Task Force.

According to Preston, an officer for the GITEM task force had conducted a traffic stop on a 2006 Chevrolet pick up at about 3:30 p.m. The officer discovered that the truck had been reported stolen out of Glendale in July, he said. The vehicle had been painted gray. The original color was white, Preston said.

“If you looked close enough, you could tell it wasn’t a very good paint job,” Preston said.

Many of these vehicles are stolen and taken into Mexico, where they are resold or use to smuggle drugs across the border, he said. “Smugglers often steal vehicles and use them for illegal means,” he said. “That way, if they get caught, they don’t lose one of their own vehicles.”

Banuelo had no gang affiliation, Preston said.

Arizona is number two in the nation for vehicle theft, according to the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority, although efforts from law enforcement has caused that figure to shrink within the last five years.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that in 2007 there were 48,389 vehicles stolen in Arizona, which amounts to 763.4 vehicles per 100,000 residents.

That’s declined since 2003 when 56,997 vehicles were stolen at a rate of 1,021.3 thefts per 100,000 residents.

And it’s the first year the rate of per capita thefts has fallen below the most recent low of 38,247 thefts in 1999, a rate of 801 crimes per 100,000 people.

 

Copyright © 2012 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    jay dee 2 wrote on Oct 29, 2008 7:07 PM:

    " It's funny, it sounds like a jealous officer. Or its a disgruntled employee from my point of view. "

    Joshua wrote on Oct 29, 2008 12:41 PM:

    " From reading the police reports in the Dispatch, it looks like the regular DPD officers are finding numerous stolen vehicles all the time. Why do such a big story on a Task Force finding only one? Give more credit to the local cops for actually doing what they are assigned to do. GITEM isn't doing anything about the gang problem in Douglas. The only arrests I have seen of gang members is by the local cops. I want to see productivity stats to see if it is worth taking 2 Douglas cops off of our streets to do GITEM "

    jay dee wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:36 PM:

    " Well I guess that goes to show that Gang Members are not the ones stealing cars, since he had no gang affiliation. But how come we don't see number for the arrests of gang members in Douglas from the gang unit. All I hear is that they arrest Illegal, based on their new Name (GIITEM) which deals with Immigration issues. Why are the Douglas PD Assisgned Officer not focusing on Gangs instead of Illeglas, That's what BP or CPB is for? Waste of money and resources from my point of view. "

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