Submitted by Fox First at Ten on November 21st
Spokane Police Department Press Release:
SPOKANE, Wash. - There has been a recent increase in vehicle thefts with a surge in Acuras and Hondas. It is very common for 1 or 2 people to be involved in multiple thefts of the same make or model of vehicle. Officers from the Spokane Police Department PACT team went to work on the problem. Officers saw 31 year-old Hector Martinez driving a green 1997 Acura Integra into an area of Jackson/Marietta where several stolen cars have been recovered recently. Martinez was seen dropping off property at a house and then parking the Acura a few blocks away. Martinez was detained by PACT after he ran on foot from the vehicle.
Officers contacted the vehicle owner who was unaware it had been stolen from a parking lot at 777 E. Magnesium. In that same lot Officers located a stolen red 1990 Acura Integra. The Integra was stolen from the Skills Center at 4141 N. Regal where a stolen blue 1994 Acura legend was left. For the rest of the day Officers were tracking down stolen cars spread throughout the city. By the end of the night, PACT members recovered 5 Acuras and 4 Hondas and returned them to their owners. They were also able to link him to 5 more stolen vehicles that had already been recovered.
Martinez was booked into jail for 14 felonies. Charges included 10 counts of Theft of a Motor Vehicle and 4 counts of 1st Degree Taking a Motor Vehicle Without Owner's Permission. Martinez has 9 felony convictions. His most recent convictions were for 2nd degree theft and 2nd degree possession of stolen property. Video surveillance of one thefts showed it only took him 30 seconds to get into it and drive it away. The 14 cars he is charged with stealing were all taken this month.
