By Jesse Dungan
San Jose Mercury News
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Auto thieves, beware. The next car you boost could end up helping police catch you.
That’s what happened to the man suspected of stealing a 2010 Lexus from the 400 block of Luff Lane in Redwood Shores on June 10, Redwood City police Sgt. Sean Hart said Wednesday.
The alleged thief had been using credit cards left inside the Lexus, but police got their big break Tuesday when they asked Putnam Lexus on Convention Way to activate the car’s built-in GPS unit, according to Hart.
“Within an hour or two, we got a call telling us where the vehicle was,” Hart said.
The dealership tracked the sedan to the 100 block of G Street, Hart said.
When detectives arrived in the area at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, they spotted Nicholas Castro and his girlfriend Heather Inamasu near the car. The detectives tried to approach the pair, but Castro hopped into the Lexus while Inamasu tried to run away. Police quickly arrested Inamasu.
Castro was spotted at Whipple Avenue and Veterans Boulevard, but police did not pursue him because of heavy traffic. However, the traffic also kept the 26-year-old from driving away, and he decided to abandon the Lexus and make a run for it, according to Hart.
Officers ran after Castro and arrested him, Hart said.
Police found methamphetamine as well as evidence of credit card fraud and identity theft in the car, Hart said. Castro, a parolee at large, was booked into San Mateo County jail on suspicion of auto theft, evading a police officer, resisting arrest, possession of methamphetamine and for a parole violation warrant.
Inamasu, 25, was arrested for an outstanding misdemeanor warrant.
Inamasu and Castro could face additional charges, Hart said. Both are transients who frequent different parts of the Bay Area.
Copyright 2011 San Jose Mercury News