Eight busted in two-day auto theft sting in Woodland

A recent rash of car thefts prompted Woodland police to conduct a two-day sting that resulted in eight arrests last week.

Sgt. Tom Davis said 52 cars — most of them 1990s-model Honda Accords and Civics — were reported stolen during the six-week period between Dec. 1 and Jan. 15. By comparison, a total of 202 vehicles were stolen in the city during all of 2012, he said.

“The Woodland Police Department took a proactive approach to this problem and launched a stolen vehicle enforcement detail in the city on the nights of Jan. 15 and 16,” Davis said in a news release. Armed with information about the type of vehicles being stolen, where they were taken and later recovered, officers from several law-enforcement agencies conducted surveillance in the affected areas.

The result of the sting was the arrests of eight people on charges of vehicle theft, drug-related offenses, or a combination of the two, Davis said.

He identified the suspects as Martin Guitierrez, 44, of Knights Landing; Eduardo Solorzano, 49, of Knights Landing; Savanna Wilson, 20, of Woodland; Danae Morin, 30, of Woodland; Alyssa Chavarria, 22, of Woodland; Rosalinda Velasquez, 22, of Woodland; Armando Casto, 26, of Woodland; and Sean Duffy, 28, of Woodland.

All were lodged at the Yolo County Jail. Davis said officers also recovered three stolen vehicles and seized one gram of methamphetamine and 216 grams of marijuana.

Agencies assisting in the enforcement detail included the Sacramento County Auto Theft Suppression Task Force — comprising officers from the California Highway Patrol, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Sacramento County Probation Department and the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office — the Yolo County Probation Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Auto Crimes Enforcement Detail, Davis said.