Alleged truck thieves are no match for APD drones

Armed thieves early the morning of July 3 had no problem stealing a pickup truck the Albuquerque Police Department uses to catch car thieves. The “bait” truck was unlocked, and no key was needed to start the ignition.

What didn’t go so well was the culprits’ efforts to down the APD drones that found them after their getaway, according to a newly filed federal search warrant affidavit.

While the men tried unsuccessfully to shoot the drones from the sky with handguns, APD backup arrived with a support helicopter and a team of detectives. In response to the gunfire, APD deployed more officers and a SWAT unit to a trailer in the 9100 block of Volcano Road NW, near where the bait truck was located.

One suspect, Rogelio Rodriguez-Salas, was taken into custody. But the other man recorded on bait car footage slipped away.

Now the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General has joined the investigation because attempting to damage, destroy, disable, or wreck an aircraft is a federal crime. And the drones in the July 3 incident qualify as “civil aircraft of the United States,” the affidavit states.

A federal grand jury in New Mexico indicted Cristobal Ortiz-Castillo last week, and a warrant for his arrest was still outstanding on Monday.

It wasn’t clear whether Rodriguez-Salas was charged. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico declined to comment on Monday because the investigation is ongoing.

APD operates a fleet of about 30 to 35 vehicles in a bait car program designed to identify and catch vehicle thieves. The vehicles are parked unlocked in various areas of the city, without keys. They are equipped with GPS and hidden audio and video recording equipment.

According to the affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, the dark-colored APD bait truck was deployed near 2600 Americare Court NW on June 27.

Then at about 5:20 a.m. July 3, an unidentified man jumped inside and drove it to a trailer park in the 9300 block of Volcano Road SW.

At about 6 a.m., Rodriguez-Salas got into the truck and took a nap in the cab for several hours. Then he got out and spent 30 to 40 minutes washing the car, using a garden hose.

“This activity may have been designed to disable certain electronics housed in a black metal box in the truck bed of the bait car, which Rodriguez-Salas directed the stream of water toward for an extended period of time (as shown in the recorded drone footage),” the affidavit states.

By that time, APD had deployed Drone #1 to the scene. That didn’t go unnoticed by Ortiz-Castillo, the affidavit states. He was seen walking up to the bait car, walking away and then putting his arm up in the air and aiming what appeared to be a black handgun at the drone. He fired several times.

The drone landed for a battery change, and then was redeployed by APD. Ortiz-Castillo then left on a motorcycle, being tracked by an APD helicopter and police officers on the ground. He arrived at another residence, but by the time a state warrant was executed to search that trailer, he had already left.

Once again, Drone #1’s battery was depleted, so Drone #2 filled in, drawing fire this time from Rodriguez-Salas, according to video taken at the scene, the affidavit states. He was later taken into custody and gave a statement to APD.

APD later identified Ortiz-Castillo by photos of his tattoos, some taken from a motorcycle crash APD responded to last December.

Authorities executed a search of a trailer looking for Ortiz-Castillo and his handgun on Aug. 8, but the warrant return showed no items were seized, nor was anyone arrested.