Seven Arrested For False Stolen Vehicle Reports

Jan. 25--El Paso police auto theft investigators have arrested seven people accused of making false stolen vehicle reports to police last year, officials said Tuesday.

The arrests by the Auto Theft Task Force took place during warrant roundups Jan. 5 and Jan. 17 following investigations into vehicle-theft cases in the second half of last year, said police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo.

Six people were each arrested on a charge of making a false report to a peace officer and one man who allegedly also filed an insurance claim was arrested on an insurance fraud charge, police said.

"Filing a false police report for any reason is a serious crime and attempting to further pursue the matter by filing an insurance claim based on that report will lead to a higher level offense," a police news release states.

An Auto Theft Task Force official had said that investigators had seen an increase last year in phony auto-theft reports.

Auto thefts increased 10 percent last year with 813 vehicles stolen, compared with 739 in 2015, according to police numbers released earlier this year.

Christian Tinoco, 36, was arrested on a charge of insurance fraud and jailed under a $10,000 bond, police said.

The six people arrested on a charge of making a false report to a peace officer were jailed in lieu of a $5,000 bond. They were identified by police as Raymond Andrew Grado, 29; Luis Ponce, 47; Angel Silva, 21; Octavio Soltero Uribe, 29; Julio Muñoz Girad, 30; and Vanessa Contreras, 30.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; [email protected]; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

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