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LAKE WORTH, Texas — Police in Lake Worth are looking for people who may have recently been the victim of a car burglary or theft. lanyard accessories
The city discovered 16 key fobs after recovering a car stolen in River Oaks.
“Often when a vehicle is broken into, somebody believes that there’s no hope of getting their things back,” Chief JT Manoushagian said. “We wanted to show that out on the hood of the vehicle to hopefully encourage people to come forward.”
It started when an exhausted Cinthia Mendez figured she’d leave her keys in her car just overnight instead of going back outside to her driveway to get them.
“I was so tired from work and everything. I had just come back from vacation,” she said. “But then I woke up and it wasn’t there.”
On Friday morning, her Nissan Maxima was gone. After a 911 call to police, she went to the car dealership, which was able to use GPS tracking on the car to locate it at a hotel along Jacksboro Highway.
Driving her husband’s truck, Mendez went by herself to the hotel to watch the car she was one month from paying off and waited for police to show up.
“I’m just going to get close to the scene and call them again and see if they’re like around,” she said. “I told them they’re there. They’re putting stuff in the car. They’re gonna leave.”
Lake Worth police had an undercover officer watching the car, and several officers showed up to arrest 18-year-old Christian Espelata who was also allegedly found with a stolen gun.
A backpack in the backseat of Mendez’s car had 16 key fobs inside.
“On many of those keychains and key fobs were keys to houses, lanyards that were clearly personalized,” Manoushagian said.
Mendez’s car had minor damage and a mess inside. Police said Espelata had also replaced her plate with another plate that was also stolen.
“Criminals do that to avoid detection with license plate readers, officers on patrol,” Manoushagian said. “It’s a pretty common occurrence with stolen vehicles.”
Espelata is currently charged with evading arrest, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful carrying of a weapon and theft of a firearm.
“Even if your neighborhood is really peaceful, never leave your keys in the car. Anything,” Mendez said. “Never again.”
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