Federal authorities made an arrest in a McAllen theft ring where the thieves targeted trucks which were smuggled into Mexico and on at least one occasion, later found by authorities there outfitted with armored plating and ballistic glass.
They arrested Orlando Javier Ramirez Friday and he’s just one of an unknown number of suspects charged in a heavily redacted indictment obtained by The Monitor.
The indictment alleges that Ramirez and the unidentified co-defendants stole 10 vehicles from various locations around McAllen, one being the University Draft House, and transported them into Mexico using multiple ports of entries between April 1 and Aug. 1 of last year.
According to the indictment, the first vehicle stolen was a maroon 2019 GMC Denali pick-up truck from a Hilton Inn hotel located at 617 W Expressway 83 after the suspects arrived at the location in a white BMW X5.
That same day, the group arrived at a Double Tree Hotel located at 1800 2nd St. in the same white BMW X5 and stole a gray 2020 Ford F-150.
The indictment goes on to say that a day prior, the group worked together to steal a white 2020 Ford F-150 at a Home 2 Suites hotel on Ware Road where hotel video surveillance cameras captured images of the aforementioned white BMW X5.
“After the theft, Department of Homeland Security electronic surveillance at the Hidalgo, Texas port of entry, captured images of VEHICLE #3 being crossed into Mexico at approximately [10 p.m.] that same day,” the document said.
After four thefts, authorities determined the white BMW X5 was implicated in the thefts and conducted a traffic stop once the vehicle was located.
The driver misled police by claiming that he had rented a vehicle in Houston. However, when authorities checked who the vehicle’s registered owner was, it was found to be the man’s aunt “who refuted his claims and told investigators that she had loaned the vehicle to [him].”
“During the execution of a search warrant on the white BMW X5, investigators found an OnStar antenna for VEHICLE #1 and a drone taken from VEHICLE #2,” the indictment said.
Around June 25, the group also stole a maroon 2015 Ford F-150 from a residence and crossed it into Mexico despite the vehicle having no crossing history, which was subsequently recovered by Mexican law enforcement in Reynosa.
“Photos of VEHICLE #5 indicate that it had been equipped with ballistic glass and up-armor plates and did not have the original state-issued license plates,” the indictment said.
According to the document, Ramirez was involved in the thefts of the ninth and tenth vehicles stolen, one of which occurred at the University Draft House, by using reprogrammed key FOBs that allowed Ramirez and the group to break into vehicles.
The tenth stolen vehicle was ultimately recovered in McAllen, the indictment stated.
Ramirez is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
