Sixty people have been indicted in an eight-month undercover auto theft operation in San Diego County, during which authorities recovered not just stolen cars, but drugs, guns and body armor, local law enforcement officials announced Thursday.

The undertaking, dubbed “Operation Kill Switch,” turned up more than 70 stolen vehicles, including U-Haul trucks. The vehicles had a combined value of about $1.1 million.

From February to September, undercover officers bought stolen or illegal items from more than 90 people. A grand jury heard evidence and handed up indictments for 60 defendants, District Attorney Summer Stephan said at a news conference in San Diego.

“These people made it their business to steal cars,” she said.


Although the region had seen a drop in car thefts, they climbed back up over the last two years. According to authorities, some 13,188 vehicles were reported stolen in the county in 2012. Two years later, that number was down to 10,383.

Last year, the number of cars reported stolen countywide was 12,207.

The sting was handled by the Regional Auto Theft Task Force, made up of 16 local and state law enforcement officials. Federal agents also took part in the effort, which primarily targeted people in North County.

The cars recovered during Operation Kill Switch ranged from high-end — Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Tesla — to a 1992 Honda that the victim had relied on as her transportation to her job at a discount store.


Stephan said the Honda owner was leaving work to visit a hospitalized elderly parent when she discovered that her car, which had been a wedding present, was missing from the parking lot.

“This is the kind of harm that’s caused,” she said, noting that the victim had “done everything right,” including locking her doors. “This caused a hardship. And this is just one example of why we all take this very seriously.”

Aside from recovering cars, undercover officers were also able to buy several stolen U-Hauls that had been obtained by people using stolen identities.

“That was a little different for us,”said California Highway Patrol Capt. Don Goodbrand. He added: “That’s just not your typical ‘I’m gonna break into a car and steal it’ route. It’s the identity theft route.”


Most of vehicles recovered in the sting had been taken in San Diego County, although some had been swiped in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

Goodbrand said the recovered cars had been stolen primarily for one reason: “Sell them. And make money, and do their drugs or whatever they wanted to do with that money.”

“They are not overly concerned with where they (the vehicles) end up. They just want to get paid,” he said.

The sales transactions during the sting were videotaped. Goodbrand declined to say how undercover officers found out about and arranged to buy the stolen cars.


A team of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies swept through North County and other areas early Wednesday and made several arrests. As of late Thursday morning, 38 of the 60 people named in the indictments were in custody.

Other arrests were expected to follow.

Depending on the charges and any prior convictions, potential sentences for the “Operation Kill Switch” defendants could range from probation to 10 years in custody.

Thus far, 73 vehicles have been returned to their owners, a feat Goodbrand called “especially rewarding.”


Oceanside Police Capt. Tom Aguigui echoed the sentiment.

“For some people, that car is their livelihood,” he said. “That’s their livelihood to go to work, pick up their children, make a living. And when that’s taken from them, and then returned to them, that to me is what this task force is able to do.”

The Regional Auto Theft Task Force often conducts big stings. In 2016, undercover officers ran a fake “chop shop” in Lemon Grove to buy stolen cars that the sellers believed were to be stripped for parts. That effort led to the indictments of 42 people. Investigators seized 117 stolen vehicles, with a total value of about $1.3 million.


teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com


(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT