BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Brownsville Police Department is searching for two suspects, including the alleged ring leader, of an auto theft ring.
Two individuals in the ring have been arrested and another two remain at large.
Orlando Gael Davila, is suspected to be the lead member of the ring and is wanted by Brownsville police.
According to police, Davila recruited Carlos Ivan Ortegon and Mario Alberto Garza to help him steal GMC Sierras and Chevy Silverados in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
Ortegon, 22, was arrested by U.S. Marshals at a Motel 6 in McAllen earlier this month. He is charged with nine counts of theft of a motor vehicle, a third degree felony and two counts of attempted theft of a motor vehicle, a state jail felony. In addition to those charges, police say Ortegon was also charged with four counts of engaging in organized criminal activity, a second degree felony and aggravated robbery, a first degree felony.
Garza, 18, was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, unlawful use of a criminal instrument, tampering with a government record, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, unlawful carrying of a weapon and nine counts of theft of motor vehicle, according to a release from the Brownsville Police Department.
Ortegon and Garza would then allegedly recruit people of their own, like Efrain Barrientos, to help the criminal organizations in Mexico get more vehicles at a faster rate.
Barrientos has been on Brownsville PD’s radar since August.
Police urge anyone with information regarding the auto theft ring or the whereabouts of those wanted to come forward.
Anyone with information can call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 546-TIPS or submit a tip online.
