Officials of the Department of San Mateo Police ‒SMPD‒ arrested a man for a reported vehicle theft in San Mateo on Wednesday afternoon.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., SMPD officers were notified of a stolen vehicle near Hillsdale Boulevard and Saratoga Drive and responded to locate the vehicle.
An SMPD officer located the vehicle behind a building located in the 2600 block of El Camino Real. Once backup arrived, a traffic stop was conducted on the stolen vehicle and the driver, later identified as Tenzin Rinchen, was ordered to exit the vehicle.
Rinchen exited the vehicle and was safely taken into custody by officers.
Upon further investigation, officers learned that Rinchen did not have a bail bond order from the San Mateo County Probation Department for a violation of his supervised release.
Officers then transported and booked Rinchen into the San Mateo County Jail for vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle and prior auto theft.
In light of the incident, authorities have called for people to take certain precautions and use anti-theft devices and systems designed to make vehicles harder to steal or easier to track and recover.
Some of them are:
- Audible and visible devices: These devices, such as a horn alarm, deter theft by drawing attention to an unauthorized attempt to steal or enter a vehicle. Visible devices create a visual threat/warning/deterrent, such as the use of steering wheel locks, as well as anti-theft decals, flashing lights, and window etchings.
- Immobilizer-type devices: These prevent thieves from bypassing a vehicle's ignition system and hot-starting the vehicle. Some embed computer chips in the ignition keys or disable the flow of electricity or fuel to the engine.
- Vehicle Recovery Systems: These devices use electronic transmission technology that helps law enforcement reveal the location of stolen vehicles and possibly catch the thief in the act.
Remember to take your vehicle key and not leave it inside or on your car, and to close and lock all windows and doors when you park.
Park in well-lit areas if possible and within view of a security camera. Never leave valuables in your vehicle, especially if they can be seen from outside the vehicle.
Thieves want everything you sell, from the mandatory labeled parts to the unlabeled ones. Some of the most popular vehicle parts or valuable items stolen from vehicles include doors, liftgates, engines, transmissions, catalytic converters, airbags, radios, GPS units, cell phones, iPads, laptops, and wallets.
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