In early October of 2024, Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) Vehicle Theft Task Force (VTTF) detectives located three stolen vehicles in an alley behind a home in northwest Tucson. The stolen vehicles included a 2012 Nissan 370z, a 2015 Dodge Challenger, and a 2019 Dodge Charger Scat Pack.

Detectives initiated surveillance, and further investigation revealed the three stolen cars – along with other vehicles located at the residence - were associated with a car club involved in illegal street takeovers in Tucson. While conducting surveillance, detectives identified several suspects associated with the stolen vehicles and street takeovers.

On Oct. 19, detectives recovered the stolen Dodge Charger at a residence in Marana as it was being chopped and parted out. Two suspects - Jiovany Arellano, 21, and Cesar Duran, 31 - fled from the property on foot when detectives arrived. Both suspects were found nearby and were arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail on charges including theft of means of transportation, burglary in the third degree, and operating a chop shop.

The following Monday, Oct. 21, detectives served a residential search warrant at the residence in Tucson where the three stolen vehicles were originally located. Detectives recovered both the Nissan 370z and the Dodge Challenger, and also located a stolen 2006 Cadillac CTS in the yard.

Brandon Ortiz-Gonzales, 19, and Brian Ortiz-Gonzales, 22, were arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail on charges including theft of means of transportation, burglary in the third degree, and operating a chop shop.

Camron Patterson, 21, was also arrested on charges including theft of means of transportation and burglary in the third degree.

In total, detectives arrested five suspects, recovered four stolen vehicles, and seized an additional nine vehicles as evidence.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Vehicle Theft Task Force at [email protected].

The VTTF is comprised of city, county and state law enforcement agencies participating in a concerted effort to identify, apprehend and prosecute individuals and criminal organizations that profit from the theft of motor vehicles and related crimes.

The VTTF serves a vital mission on behalf of the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority (AATA) to reduce vehicle theft in Arizona by deterring criminal activity through effective and proactive enforcement, prosecution and public awareness programs. The VTTF is substantially funded by an annual grant from the AATA.