Crime & Safety

Stolen Vehicles From Botched Drug Deal Recovered

Police officers from San Rafael and Tiburon recovered two vehicles that were stolen after the owner attempted to buy drugs, police say.

Over the weekend, San Rafael and Tiburon police officers recovered two vehicles that were stolen during a botched drug deal, according to Cpl. Todd Berringer.

On April 28, Scotty Hernandez, 18, threatened a 25-year-old victim with a knife after the victim attempted to buy marijuana near Second Street and Lincoln Avenue around 8 p.m., Berringer said. Hernandez was accompanied by two minors, and together they took the victim’s wallet, cell phone and Subaru Forester then left the scene in the stolen car.

The suspects returned to the area later that evening and stole the victim’s Ford pick-up after they found the keys in Subaru, police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher said.

When the victim originally reported the incident, he claimed that the suspects who was in the car, but those claims were false, according to Rohrbacher.

“He was afraid the suspects, who were known to him, would retaliate against him and his family. So, in his mind it was better if he made up part of the story,” she said.

On April 29, San Rafael police officers spotted the Ford pick-up on Golden Hinde Boulevard at approximately 7:30 p.m. They found two suspects, one 16 and the other 17, inside the car. The victim identified the minors and they were booked in Marin County Juvenile Hall, according to Berringer.

The 16 year old was booked on charges of carjacking, robbery, false imprisonment, auto theft and possession of stolen property. The 17 year old was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of stolen property. The suspects were brothers and residents of Greenbrae, Rohrbacher said.

On April 30, a license plate reader in Tiburon alerted officers of the stolen Subaru. Tiburon police stopped and arrested the driver, William Mejia Zelaya. Zelaya, 19, is from Richmond and was booked in Marin County Jail for possession of stolen property, according to Berringer. His connection with Hernandez or the two minors is not known.


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