ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – A couple of suspected thieves trying to get away in a stolen car needed some help, but they asked the wrong person: an undercover detective with the Albuquerque Police Department.

APD said undercover detectives discovered a stolen car at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday parked outside Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Albuquerque.

Detectives decided to hold off on an arrest because St. Mary’s Catholic School was just around the corner.

However, plans changed when the suspects made a surprising move.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this happening,” said Officer Tanner Tixier.

Police said the stolen car wouldn’t start. So, the suspects unknowingly approached an undercover officer who had been watching them and asked for jumper cables.

Needless to say, it didn’t end the way 27-year-old Kristina Aragon and 29-year-old Michael Farley had hoped.

With St. Mary’s on lockdown, police moved in to handcuff the duo.

APD said Aragon admitted she stole the car from her mom and Farley admitted he knew it was stolen.

Arrests made easy, thanks to help from the suspected thieves themselves.

Online records show Aragon had two warrants out for her arrest for two separate drug cases, which are still pending in court.

Meanwhile, Farley has faced a judge a handful of times for drug and theft charges.