BRONX MAN IS HEADED TO JAIL FOR ONE YEAR FOR TARGETING BRONX DA AUTO CRIME TEAM’S “BAIT CAR” FOR BREAK-IN

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today the conviction of a 37-year-old man who, earlier this year, picked the wrong car to break into, a Bronx DA Office owned vehicle that Mr. Johnson’s Auto Crime Team uses as a “bait car”.

Luis Santos, of 2335 Crotona Avenue, pled guilty to one count of Auto Stripping in the 3rd degree, a Class A misdemeanor offense. Santos is to be sentenced on April 30, 2008 in State Supreme Court, Part 60. Under terms of the plea agreement, Santos will be sentenced to serve a year in jail and will waive his right to appeal the conviction and any eligibility for early release. This conviction also puts Santos at risk of having any future misdemeanor auto crimes with which he may be charged, elevated to felony level offenses.

Santos was arrested and charged with various auto related misdemeanor crimes on February 27, 2008 during a midday stakeout by Bronx DA Detective Investigators and Police Officers from the 48th Precinct in response to a rash of break-ins and vandalism of cars in the area. Bronx DA Detective Investigators parked the “bait car” on East 188th Street between Hughes and Belmont Avenues and waited. The bait car has a GPS unit on the dashboard and two cellular telephones on the floor next to the front seat on the passenger’s side. According to court papers, the detectives watched Santos “punch the driver’s side door window with a hard object, push the shattered glass into the vehicle” and climb inside. Santos put the Global Positioning System, which belongs to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, and two cellular telephones, which belong to the New York City Police Department, into a white plastic bag. Santos was arrested when he got out of the car with the bag in his possession.

Assistant District Attorney Sharif Nesheiwat of the Arson / Auto / Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case.