Officers from the Fontana Police Dept. will be recognized on Thursday, May 18 by the Automobile Club of Southern California and the California Highway Patrol for their recovery of stolen vehicles. In Fontana, where 1,031 vehicles were stolen last year, seven officers recovered more than 129 vehicles and made 50 arrests. The value of these recovered vehicles is approximately $1.1 million.
The Auto Club’s Special Investigations Unit Manager Dawnde Pence and CHP Capt. Joe Flores will present the awards at the CHP Inland Empire Division. The awards will be presented to Corporal Justin Laing, and Officers Domenic Ancona, Paul Contreras, John Cory, David Goodland, Daniel Romero, and Nick Sandler.
Car theft is the number one property crime in America. And California is the state with the most stolen vehicles. In 2015, 180,000 vehicles were stolen in California at an estimated value of $1 billion, according to the CHP. The top three stolen vehicles in 2015 in the Golden State were the 1996 Honda Accord, the 1998 Honda Civic and the 1994 Honda Accord.
The 10851 Award from the Auto Club and CHP recognizes peace officers that make significant contributions to the recovery of stolen vehicles and the arrest of suspected car thieves. The award gets its name from the California Vehicle Code section that prohibits vehicle theft. To qualify for the award, an officer must meet any of the following criteria within a one-year period:
- Make six separate “rolling stolen” (suspect occupied) in-custody arrests
- Recover 12 stolen vehicles, at least three of which are suspect occupied
- Develop information which results in identification of a theft ring, the arrests of at least two suspects and recovery of at least 10 vehicles.