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Police attribute decline to Mexican military presence Brownsville police are reporting a sharp decline in motor vehicle thefts, attributing the decrease to the strong Mexican military presence in cities bordering the United States. "It's been very effective," said Brownsville police Lt. James Paschall of the Special Investigations Unit. "We have a good working relationship with state police, local police and other entities within Matamoros." So far this month, 15 vehicles have been reported stolen in Brownsville, compared to 40 in May 2007. Mexican authorities reported 18 vehicles stolen in Matamoros during April. "It's worked out very well, it's down," Paschall...

EARLY on the afternoon of March 26, two young men visited Heritage Auto Sales, a specialty dealership in Calgary, Alberta. They asked to test-drive a dark gray 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R, a performance model made primarily for the Japanese market and rarely seen in North America. ... One of the men had been to the dealership a week earlier for a ride, but he and Mr. Ironside didn’t get far. The car, with an engine modified for extra horsepower, began to act up. When the man returned with a friend for another try, Mr. Ironside was juggling two customers, so...

Investigators also found over 70 illegal immigrants PALMVIEW - Sheriff's deputies arrested the head of an auto theft ring near Palmview. The man is also accused of human smuggling. The arrest happened on Bentsen Palm Drive and Three Mile Line. Investigators were watching a house connected to possible stolen vehicles. When they went into the home, they found stolen vehicle and over 70 illegals inside. The people were turned over to Border Patrol. Watch NEWSCHANNEL 5 for the latest information.

Fresno rose to No. 8 on the 2006 list, up from No. 9 in 2005, but that rate is down by 19.7% for the first portion of the year, according to figures released by the Fresno Police Department on April 11.

Las Vegas has the highest rate of auto theft per capita of any metropolitan area in the country, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Western states still lead the nation in auto theft rates, according to the NICB. All of the top ten metro areas by per capita auto theft rates are in western states. Half of the top ten metro areas are in California. (See the Top 10 list below.) Modesto, Calif., which had topped the ranking for the past three years, saw the number of car thefts there plummet by almost 30 percent last year...

FRAMINGHAM -- The arrest Monday night of a 19-year-old man on charges related to a stolen car is another turn in the tortuous road pastor Victoria Hidalgo has followed since marrying a Guatemalan immigrant two years ago who has since been deported. The story began the year before her wedding when she met Gramajo Hidalgo, 54, at her church in Framingham for Spanish-speaking people. Gramajo came to church in the company of Silvia Arizandieta, Victoria said in an interview yesterday. Gramajo continued going to church, Silvia did not, and Victoria said she was smitten. However, after the marriage Gramajo continued...

Child Dies One Day Before 2nd BirthdayHOUSTON -- A baby died after two men who carjacked her parents drove over her, Houston TV station KPRC reported Wednesday. Officials said the family stopped at a car wash at about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday to use a telephone. Police said two armed men tried to rob the father and mother. "While the father was out using the pay phone, two black males approached him and demanded money from the father and the mother," Sgt. C.W. Howard said. "They were unable to produce any money, so the suspects then decided to take their vehicle."...

If you have ever had your car stolen, you know what a traumatic experience it can be. Well the Trunk Monkey is an automotive theft retrieval system will not only help to get your car back. But it will also act a form of “on the spot justice” for you “tough on crime” types. Click Here to see the video. Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

Schemes that trapped drivers into rear-end collisions netted $3 million from insurers, California officials say. The leader of a major auto insurance fraud ring that tricked unsuspecting drivers into rear-end collisions has been arrested, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced Wednesday. Huntington Park attorney Bernard Laufer, 52, was arrested Tuesday morning. Laufer's recruiter in the scheme, La Verne resident Humberto Carlon, 22, was arrested earlier in the investigation and is serving a two-year prison sentence, Garamendi said. The San Gabriel Valley-based scheme is nearly identical to one in the South Bay that Garamendi's office shut down in December, and one...

The man who tried to steal a car with a screw-driver, Thursday, remains in the Lubbock County Jail. Lawrence Lindsey tried to steal a vehicle at Mike King's Auto on FM 1585 around noon Thursday. Lindsey threatened the owner with a screw-driver and then ran to County Road 7355 where he hid in a trailer home. That's where sheriff's deputies arrested him just minutes later. He will be charged with aggravated robbery and hindering apprehension.

HEADLIGHT THEFT: A man reported an attempt to steal headlights from his car while it was parked at his home on Short Beach Road in Stratford. The man told police Wednesday morning his 2004 Nissan Maxima had been damaged in the area of its headlights the previous night. Officers reported seeing pry marks and scratches on the car from an effort to remove the lights. The left headlight had been removed but the right one was still in place, police said. The man estimated the damage at about $2,000.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- You lock you car to help keep thieves away, but an NBC 5 investigation discovered that crooks can buy keys to your vehicle on the Internet. In fact, NBC 5 found one Web site promising "master keys" that work on five popular makes. A disclaimer stated that the keys are intended for people in legitimate need, but NBC 5 ordered and received by mail all five master keys, with no questions asked. To test the keys, NBC 5 visited the Fort Worth impound lot and met up with Tarrant County Auto Theft Task Force Sgt. Walt...

BALTIMORE - Matthew Green starts his 2005 Ford Escape with a duplicate key he had made at Lowe's. Nothing unusual about that, except that the automobile industry has spent millions of dollars to keep him from being able to do it. Mr. Green, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, is part of a team that plans to announce on Jan. 29 that it has cracked the security behind "immobilizer" systems from Texas Instruments Inc. The systems reduce car theft, because vehicles will not start unless the system recognizes a tiny chip in the authorized key. They are used in...

Police Ticketing People who Warm Up Unattended Cars Police in some parts of Missouri say leaving your vehicle unattended while you warm it up is a no-no. And they're handing out tickets to make the view clear. In Mid-Missouri, there isn't such ordinance prohibiting warming up an unattended vehicle. But in areas such as Florissant and Jennings and other towns, they have such ordinances on the books, making such warm-ups illegal. Police in those areas say the ordinance is more like a public service, meant to curb auto thefts.

L.A. Man Shoots Car Thief, Charged with Murder Wed Apr 7, 5:51 PM ET Add U.S. National - Reuters to My Yahoo! LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 26-year-old Los Angeles man who prosecutors say shot at two thieves stealing his car, killing one of them, was charged on Wednesday with murder. Yoon Ho Song could face 50 years to life in prison if he is convicted of the first degree murder of Mario Sandoval Martinez and a special allegation of using a handgun, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Prosecutors say Song came out of...

<p>Arizona's first year using high-tech bait cars has captured more than surprised thieves caught on video.</p> <p>It's created a high-profile media buzz, warning bad guys that no car is safe to steal.</p> <p>The decoys are also raising public awareness in the fight to shake the state's reputation for having a high rate of auto thefts. In the first half of last year, auto thefts statewide declined 7 percent, partly because of the spread of the bait car program to a dozen cities, officials say.</p>

White-haired Betty A. Gooch has hobbled into car dealerships across the Chicago area and chatted about her ailments with eager salesmen while admiring their shiny new vehicles, police and prosecutors said Tuesday. Each time, they said, the 75-year-old woman ended up writing a bad check for the full amount and driving home in a new car. Gooch of Algonquin is charged with five felonies in two counties, accused of using bad checks to buy new vehicles, including a $36,000 Toyota Sienna and a $20,000 Toyota Matrix. But police say they believe Gooch has taken advantage of about a dozen car...

WEAPONS OF CHOICE Homeowner charged after shooting intruder Family protected but suburban town prohibits possession of handguns Posted: January 10, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A Chicago-area homeowner protected his family by shooting an intruder but was charged with violating a local ordinance banning possession of handguns. Wilmette, Ill., Police Chief George Carpenter believes charges against Hale DeMar, 54, underscore the suburban village's serious concerns about the shooting, the Chicago Tribune reported. "The outcome of the matter in this case was very fortunate for the homeowner," he said. "We much prefer, for the safety of the home, that...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Released from prison, Ronald A. Mahner's first mistake was driving back to get his stuff. Mahner returned to the Seminole County Jail to reclaim his personal property four days after being released. He had served a sentence for drunken driving, auto theft and habitually driving with a suspended or revoked license. But when asked to provide identification, Mahner handed a sheriff's deputy his license, which after routine computer check was found to have been revoked for life. Deputy Teri Cresswell couldn't prove Mahner was doing anything illegal without seeing him behind the wheel, so she told...

Rather's local story Here's a little story from CBS: About a dozen years ago, a teen-ager was caught trying to steal CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather's car from a Fort Worth hotel parking lot. Rather declined to press charges, but instead had a talk with the lad about right and wrong. Apparently, he listened: Tamarsh Thompson, now 27, is an Apache helicopter pilot stationed in Kuwait, where Rather happens to be this week, anchoring the newscast from afar. Rather ran into him and took advantage of the coincidence to do a story on last night's newscast.