A $1K reward is offered for car thieves that targeted Las Cruces dealership

Jason Groves, Las Cruces Sun-News
·2 min read

Crime Stoppers of Las Cruces-Doña Ana County is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that helps identify the person or persons responsible for stealing 11 vehicles from Base Auto Sales in January.

Base Auto Sales General Manager Jason Alderette said the dealership is offering an additional $500 per vehicle recovered.

According to police, seven of the stolen vehicles have been recovered. The following four vehicles are still being sought:

  • 2016 white Dodge Ram 3500

  • 2018 white Jeep Cherokee

  • 2019 black Ford Explorer

  • 2020 gray Chevrolet Trax

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Las Cruces Police Department is also trying to identify the person or persons who initially broke into the business and removed keys to all 11 vehicles.

"We got five of the stolen vehicles back pretty quick," Alderette said. "I got with OnStar and tracked those down pretty quickly in the first couple hours. We had police here, which was great. The cars were spread out all over Las Cruces."

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According to police, on the evening of Jan. 12 or during the early-morning hours of Jan. 13 the showroom of Base Auto Sales located at 490 N. Valley Drive was broken into.

"When my employees walked in the door, one of our bay windows to the showroom was smashed in with a hole four feet high and two feet wide," Alderette said. "They found the key board where keys were hidden and stole the keys.

"We've never had an issue like this in the 44 years Base Auto Sales has been around."

Alderette said keys to an additional 15 vehicles were stolen.

Alderette said the theft has currently cost the dealership $101,155 including window repairs and $10,000 to replace the other 15 stolen keys.Anyone with information that can help identify the person or persons responsible for the burglary and car theft - or anyone who knows the whereabouts of the four vehicles that are still missing – is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Las Cruces-Doña Ana County at 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers allows tips to be given anonymously.Tips can also be provided through the Las Cruces Crime Stoppers app, “P3 TIPS.” The app is available through the App Store on most devices.

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Car thieves take 11 cars from Las Cruces dealership Base Auto Sales