TEMECULA: Teens arrested after stealing, crashing luxury electric sedan

TEMECULA — Authorities tracked down and arrested two Temecula teenagers seven days after they allegedly stole and then crashed a Tesla sedan, Tuesday, Oct. 17. The early morning vehicle theft happened from a residential property on the 39000 block of Calle Bellagio, in an unincorporated area east of Temecula.

After the vehicle theft the car’s owner used a Tesla cell phone app to live track his stolen sedan, at which time officials found the car wrecked and abandoned about eleven miles away.

Authorities found the wrecked sedan in a residential neighborhood at the intersection of Rancho Highland and Tierra Vista Road in the city of Temecula, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Steve Fredericks explained in a written press release after the arrests.

The investigation into the vehicle theft began after the Tesla owner called 911 to report the theft of his car.

After reporting the theft, the owner of the silver, electric vehicle “was able to electronically track the stolen car’s location and relay this information to responding deputies,” said Fredericks.

“Deputies, along with officers from the Temecula Police Department, located the vehicle just before 5 a.m.,” Fredericks explained. “The car had been involved in a traffic collision and was abandoned.”

While recovering the stolen car, deputies at the scene located evidence and forwarded it to investigators, who later identified two possible suspects.

The suspects – two 15-year-olds, a male and female – were detained by investigators on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Both were later arrested and booked into the Southwest Juvenile Hall on suspicion of vehicle theft and criminal conspiracy.

The names of the two alleged suspects was not released, due to their ages.

This was not the first time in Riverside County a Tesla owner was credited with tracking down and locating their own stolen vehicles using the manufacturer’s car tracking app.

In one incident that happened in March 2017, an Escondido Tesla owner tracked his car to Riverside County, over 40 miles north from where the high-tech electric sedan had been stolen. The vehicle was taken the previous day during a residential burglary, according to officials.

Using the automaker’s phone app, the owner tracked his vehicle to a shopping center in the 23000 block of Clinton Keith Road in Wildomar.

As deputies converged on the area, they spotted the stolen car being driven away onto the northbound I-15 Freeway. Officials conducted a traffic enforcement stop, at which time they recovered the stolen sedan and arrested the alleged burglar and car thief.

Depending on the model and configuration, Tesla sedans – which can cost between $68,000 and $135,000 – have a range of about 250 to 337 miles per charge; can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 2.5 seconds; feature a HEPA air filtration “Bio-Weapon Defense Mode,” which creates positive pressure inside the cabin to protect occupants from at least 99.97% of particulate exhaust pollution as well as all allergens, bacteria and other contaminants; and other luxury amenities only found on the highest-end of luxury vehicles.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Investigator Rachael Frost at (951) 696-3000. Callers can refer to incident file number SW172900005 can can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.