Nine members of a Tijuana based motorcycle gang were charged in a federal grand jury indictment with participating in a sophisticated scheme to steal scores of Jeep Wranglers and motorcycles in San Diego County using handheld electronic devices and stolen codes.

According to court records, the transnational criminal organization known as the Hooligan Motorcycle gang is responsible for the theft of more than 150 Jeep Wranglers worth approximately $4.5 million within San Diego County since 2014.

So far, three of nine defendants are in custody, including two that were arrested on Tuesday at a home in Spring Valley and another one arrested at the border.
The defendants arrested are Imperial Beach resident Henry Irenio Pulido, 24; Tijuana resident Alejandro Guzman, 23; and San Diego resident Reynaldo Rodriguez, 33.
The rest of the gang members involved in the thefts are fugitives believed to be in Mexico.

U.S. federal authorities held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the details of the Hooligans’ operations in San Diego, who specifically targeted Jeep Wranglers.

Unlike other vehicles, the hoods of Jeep Wranglers can be opened without inside access to the car, which made the robbery process easier for the gang members.
The gang members did their homework before a theft by targeting a specific Jeep days before the actual theft would take place. They obtained the vehicle identification number in advance and then managed to get secret key codes, which allowed them to create a duplicate key for that particular Jeep.

Then, during the theft, the Hooligans disabled the alarm system, programmed the duplicate key using a handheld electronic device, and quietly drove away without notice.

Agents from the Regional Auto Theft Task Force, or RATT, at first were perplexed. But eventually they caught a break, after one of the robberies was caught on a victim’s home video surveillance.

The surveillance footage revealed that three men stole a Jeep by disabling the alarm and then using a key and a handheld electronic device to turn on the engine.
Based on the surveillance footage, law enforcement agents sent Chrysler a list of around 20 Jeeps that had recently been stolen in San Diego County and asked whether anyone had requested duplicate keys for the stolen Jeeps.

Chrysler, the parent company for Jeep, responded that a duplicate key had been requested for nearly every one of the 20 stolen Jeep vehicles. Moreover, nearly every one of the keys had apparently been requested through the same dealership in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Jeeps’ owners did not request duplicate keys and were unaware that anyone had.

After additional investigation, agents began interrupting Jeep thefts and made several arrests. Through these arrests, agents learned that the Tijuana-based Hooligan Motorcycle gang was behind the operation.

“The joy ride is over for these Hooligans,” said Deputy U.S. Attorney Mark Conover. “For many of us, our cars are our most valuable possessions. These arrests have put the brakes on an organization that has victimized neighborhoods in a different way – by stealing something very personal. Something that required a lot of sacrifice to purchase.”

Jake Sanchez, California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer, said that Jeep owners could help prevent this type of robberies by adding non-manufacturer security items to their vehicle such as a kill switch.