Colorado vehicle theft ring victim says he let police track car which led to suspect indictments
On Monday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Denver District Attorney John Walsh announced a new grand jury indictment of 11 defendants on 52 counts for carrying out a motor vehicle theft ring between July 2024 and January 2025. The ring is alleged to have targeted vehicles at and around small municipal airports across the Front Range.
In 2024, Colorado local Tyler Fox parked his truck at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport before leaving town. Shortly after departing, he got an odd alert on his phone.
"I was on a business trip to Arizona," Fox said, "I got a notification on my phone that my vehicle alarm was going off. I thought that's odd," Fox said.
Concerned, Fox said he called the police to check on his vehicle. At some point, Fox said someone had drilled a hole into his truck.
"I got a call about an hour later, from a detective saying, 'Yes, your truck has been broken into. They haven't taken anything, but we've been tracking these guys for a while, and we're about 95% sure they're gonna come back and steal it,'" Fox said.
According to a newly released grand jury indictment, someone eventually did steal the truck.
Fox said he agreed to leave the vehicle at the airport and allowed police to track the vehicle, helping investigators with the CATPA Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force find suspects connected to the larger theft operation.
CATPA Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force commander John Pickard said, "What was happening is that people would go park their vehicle, go on a trip, and have no idea that their vehicle was stolen, and so those vehicles, they're stolen, but they have not been reported yet, so they won't hit on any license plate reader camera."
The indictment alleges the group targeted municipal airport parking lots, hotels, businesses, and homes. Investigators say some of the stolen vehicles were allegedly sold to cartels in Mexico.
Pickard says he believes this ring was connected to, or grew out of, a vehicle theft ring that operated around Denver International Airport in 2022.
"We've cut the head off of this particular snake, but another one's going to grow, because now we've created this void," Pickard said, "We're bringing it down, we're making good impact, but there's still a lot of work to be done," the investigator added.
In a statement to CBS Colorado, RMMA said, "When Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport staff became aware of vehicle thefts occurring on airport property, the incidents were promptly reported to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Airport Operations increased overnight patrols and worked closely with the Sheriff's Office to support investigative efforts and monitor for any additional criminal activity."
Fox said he recovered his truck a few weeks after it was stolen and that his insurance company covered the repairs.
And while he may Uber a bit more often now, Fox says he still parks at the airport.
"Hearing that some of these guys have been arrested, so I'd like to think I played a part in that," Fox said, "I parked my truck... this same truck that was stolen, I parked it at DIA, because I did feel a little bit better."
Pickard recommends travelers take extra precautions when leaving vehicles in long-term parking lots, including using a steering wheel lock, never leaving keys inside a vehicle, and reporting suspicious activity to police.
