SACRAMENTO, Calif. – An investigation is underway after a recent string of state vehicles being stolen from a parking garage in Downtown Sacramento.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, officials say there were multiple break-ins at the Department of General Services “State Garage” in Downtown Sacramento. These break-ins led to twenty-one state-owned vehicles being stolen from the garage, says a local law enforcement officer to Public Safety News.
Since the break-ins, eighteen of the twenty-one vehicles have been recovered. The California Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies are actively searching for the remaining three vehicles. It is unknown if the vehicles have any location-tracking equipment installed.
Dustin Smith, a sergeant with the Sacramento Police Department tells Public Safety News they have taken six juveniles into custody since the break-ins after they were spotted driving the stolen vehicles. On at least two occasions, the suspects crashed the stolen vehicles in an attempt to evade officers.
On May 29 around 10:30 PM, officers located an unoccupied stolen state-owned vehicle. While on the same call, they observed a suspicious vehicle driving around the area. Officers attempted a stop on the vehicle. Once officers walked up to the vehicle, the vehicle fled. The vehicle was located a short time later after it had collided with a parked vehicle near 10th Street and S Street. The suspect was hiding under a porch nearby.
On May 30, an officer observed a vehicle driving in the area of Broadway and 44th Street with no lights on in the area. The officer tried to catch up to the vehicle by making a U-turn but the officer could not catch up to the vehicle. As the officer was trying to catch up to car the officer located the vehicle had crashed into the garage of house at 41st Street and 2nd Avenue. The driver and passenger fled from the vehicle and were eventually located. Both the driver and the passenger were found to be juveniles.
Another one of the stolen vehicles was recovered on Sunday morning off of Stockton Boulevard and Diaz Drive. In that case, offices spotted the vehicle. When officers turned their patrol vehicle around to conduct a stop, the stolen vehicle quickly evaded. The driver and a passenger dumped the vehicle at a nearby mobile home park and fled. After a short foot pursuit, the driver was found and taken into custody. His name and age were not released due to his age.
The Department of General Services says they are conducting a security assessment of the recent incident and will review and adjust any policies related to the garage and storage of the vehicles.
