Fast Response Leads to Vehicle Recovery in Rosarito
Fast Response Leads to Vehicle Recovery
Before Owner Even Knows It Was Stolen
ROSARITO
BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---An alert security guard and fast
police response led to the vehicle of a San Diego County tourist being
recovered before its owner even knew it was stolen.
“It
was amazing,” said Gary Pimentel of Vista, California, whose Ford F350
was stolen from the dirt road leading to the popular Popotla fishing
village just south of downtown Rosarito.
The
suspected thief was arrested within minutes after a very brief police
pursuit and Pimentel got his vehicle back the next day.
Pimentel,
who also has a home in Baja, had gone to the area of shops and
restaurants to buy some shrimp on the afternoon of Jan. 9. He parked on
the dirt road past the landmark white arch to the popular tourist
attraction.
About
3:30 a security guard saw a man apparently break into Pimentel’s
vehicle and drive it away. He immediately called the emergency 066
number and officers from Rosarito’s tourist police force quickly
converged on the area.
Four tourist police officers --- Victor Ángel Vela Gazca, Christian Arturo Franco Balderas, Edgar Servando Luna Morales and Christian Fabián Preciado Arreola --- spotted the vehicle a short distance away, near the 7-Eleven by the Scenic Road entrance.
The
driver of the stolen vehicle tried to flee on foot. But tourist police
officers arrested a suspect, Rodolfo Hernandez, 35 of Tijuana.
“You
guys are doing a great job,” Pimentel, the happy owner of the recovered
vehicle told police and city officials who assisted him with the
recovery. He said it was the first time he’d ever had a problem in
eight years of visiting the region.
“Cars get stolen everywhere but it’s very unusual to see one recovered this quickly,” Pimentel said,
Rosarito
Mayor Hugo Torres, who started the tourist police force two years ago,
praised the effort of both the security guard and the officers who
responded so quickly.
“This
is how exactly how the response system is supposed to work,” said
Torres, who also formed a city office for tourist attention, a
citizens’ watch program with 400 members and an ombudsman’s office to
assist visitors with any problems.
Torres also began the system of issuing bilingual tickets to visitors which can be mailed in with fines from the U.S.
Crime in Rosarito the first 11 months of 2009 declined 21 percent from the previous year, to its lowest level in five years.