With each passing year, the crime rates have gone higher and higher. Thieves are always finding opportunities to steal anything and everything that they can and make money out of things that they never owned themselves.
New Mexico is the one of the least safe states to live in, and this couple who was on a long journey was troubled by the crime of stealing. They were surprised by the theft of their car, but the thieves were more surprised than the couple themselves, once they got to know what they had stolen. They were at a loss of words and unable to comprehend what they had seen inside the trailer attached to the car.
A couple from Oklahoma was traveling on a long route with a U-Haul attached to their car. They were in New Mexico and were to travel to Kirtland. Since the journey was to be a long one, the couple decided to take a halt.
The couple thought it would be fit to make a stop in Albuquerque overnight and then resume the journey in the morning. But this decision was going to be the biggest mistake and they would be regretting it very soon.
The couple parked their SUV and the U-Haul outside a New Mexico hotel named the Residence Inn and rented a room for the night to catch on some sleep before resuming their journey. When they were in deep sleep tucked in their respective beds, someone was planning trouble for them.
The night was two-ways. It was a short night for the couple who had a deep sleep after a tiresome day and had no knowledge of time. But for the group of thieves who had planned on stealing the couple's car and U-Haul, it was a very long night.
The robbers had agreed upon taking the U-Haul and the SUV because they had anticipated some costly and valuable items inside the U-Haul. They had planned on stealing the stuff and selling it in a local market to earn money. But what they were going to get was unimaginable.
The anticipation of the robbers was soon going to go all in vain and the night would prove to be one of the worst nights for each of them. After they would find out what the U-Haul actually had inside it, they would regret stealing it for the rest of their lives.
The stealing of rented trailers, or cars, or anything valuable from outside of hotels or in markets was nothing unusual for a city like New Mexico where the crime rate is one of the highest in the world. But this robbery was going to be a very unique one for everyone involved in it.
Long road trips are assumed to be very exciting and happy journeys that someone embarks on. And if there is a U-Haul attached to the vehicle, it seems to be a journey of new beginnings. But for this couple, it was none of these things. It was a very emotional ride, and like something we would have never imagined of.
The thieves stole the car on the night of September 11, 2017, from the parking area of The Residence Inn. They drove the car away along with the rented truck and were more than happy that they were able to steal something that would fetch them a lot of money. But they were mistaken.
After driving the car a few blocks away from the hotel, the thieves decided to look inside the U-Haul to see what was to come in their pockets. All of them got down of the car and without any guilt or shame, they felt pride in what they had done.
When the couple woke up in the morning after a good night's sleep, they could have never anticipated what had happened. All ready and fresh, when they came out of the hotel to resume their journey, they were astonished.
The travelers couldn't understand what had happened the previous night. How could the car go missing from a place like parking of the hotel which they had thought was safe? Their possessions were all gone, from the SUV to the trailer, all of it.
The couple fell apart when they realized what had happened. They were already in the state of distress and now the theft of their valuables was also added to their worries. They did not really care about the car, but about what was inside the U-Haul.
As soon as the couple informed the hotel staff about the robbery, the hotel management called the police officials of the area and all of them were made aware of the situation, and everyone started looking for the missing car.
The police department comes across a lot of different cases in one day, each of a specific kind. But this particular case, even the officials agree to-date is one such case they will never be able to forget for the rest of their lives. It has really been one of a kind.
The police asked the couple the necessary questions regarding what was stolen. The couple made it clear that the U-Haul certainly did not contain something that could be displayed in the drawing-room of anybody who had stolen it. The thieves wouldn't find any showpieces inside.
Officer Tixier was the head supervisor for the couple's case and when he got to know what was exactly in the U-Haul, he was taken aback. He now knew that the thieves would also be in a state of disbelief by now.
When the Police officials got to know what was inside the rented truck, they knew it was more important than anything else to be found out at the moment. They set out on their duty, and luckily, they found the truck parked just a few blocks away from the hotel, in the middle of the road.
It was no surprise for the police that the group of thieves must've abandoned the truck after they would have seen what was inside it. They had expected that to happen. The couple was informed immediately that their lost property had been found.
The cops were aware of what they were dealing with inside the vehicle, and so when they found it, they moved forward with each step only after taking all the precautions. They exercised each move towards the trailer with full caution.
When the thieves had successfully stolen the car and the truck, they were excited that they might've struck gold. There could've been several valuable items as well. They had thought it was one of the luckiest night for them...until...
When the thieves opened the trailer in expectation of riches, they were speechless to see nothing of the sort but something completely inconceivable. They were horrified, and left the SUV where it was, and ran away from the place.
The same hearts of the thieves, that were first pumping in excitement, was now pumping out loud in pure fear. They were scared, maybe more than they had ever been in a very long time. There lay a dead body in a casket in the trailer.
As soon as the police informed the couple that their car was found, they came to the location. Both of them had a genuine reason to worry so much about the theft of the car and the trailer. The first thing to do for the wife was to check whether the body in the trailer was alright.
The dead body in the casket was the wife's father's. It now explained all the tension that she was in. The time had already been tough on her, and to top that, the trailer went missing. She would've been in the worst of states.
The police checked the casket as soon as the wife ordered them to. They informed that the body was in its place and no harm was done to it by the thieves. The couple took a breath of relief, they wanted to ensure that their father was buried with respect and honor.
The biggest task was now to find the thieves who had committed such an indecent crime. And the police started searching for pieces of evidence that would help them in doing so. Luckily, they did not have to beat their brains too hard.
The police had found fingerprints on the car since the thieves were smart to steal a trailer but not smart enough to use gloves for the theft. And the hotel guests also mentioned that they had seen a red pickup truck in the same area that morning.
The police did some investigation and it was clear that the red truck was also a stolen vehicle and their main aim now was to find the red truck, which would automatically lead them to the thieves as well.
The red truck was spotted by the police on the very same day and force was sent to catch the thieves who were driving it on the 1-25 highway. But the suspects were really stubborn and had refused to give up, trying to hide from one corner to the other.
Since the officials were as determined as ever to catch the suspects, they had put in all the force they could. The suspects behind the steering wheel soon realized that there was no way out and they ultimately gave up.
After running all around the city, the suspects were finally caught by the police. The faces in the red truck were Daniel Gonzales, Jeremy Soliz, and Anthony Serna. The police could sense from their attitude that they were the culprits.
When police officials reviewed the records of the three suspects, it came out that two of them, Serna and Gonzales already had a warrant out for their arrest. They were arrested immediately for the offense of stealing as well as a manhunt.
Their most recent crime turned out to be a really bad experience for the three thieves. They did not earn even a single penny from it, instead, they ended up earning days to be spent in jail. Every second of their life would now be spent wishing they had never seen that U-Haul.
The three thieves had actually been amateurs and would have ended up getting caught sooner or later. When they saw what the trailer had in it, they screamed in fear and scrambled as if they had stolen not some treasure but a ghost.
The thieves were so unskilled in the crime that they had tried to commit, that the risk they had taken was not even worthwhile. There was no getting scared or worried about these thieves, it was sheer laughter that they gained for themselves, by proving out to be such fools.
The havoc of the scene could've further been prevented if the neighbors would have called and complained about the U-Haul parked near their house. But there seemed to be nothing unusual to anyone since they thought someone was shifting in the neighborhood.
Michael Ayers, whose house was right in front of the spot where the U-Haul was abandoned by the thieves gave a statement to the police that he did not find anything unusual in the situation since it seemed like some deliveries were being made.
It also turned out that two of the criminals, Soliz and Serna, were arrested before also and they were out on bail during the time they committed the crime. And any guesses for what crime they had been arrested for earlier? Yes, nothing new but auto theft.
The couple was really disturbed after a never-ending day full of bad experiences and they just wanted to leave but were legally bound to stay. Their car and their own statements would be needed for the case against the thieves.
The team of police understood and respected that the couple wanted to leave to carry on with the last rites of their father and therefore they went ahead with all the formalities as quickly as possible and the couple was immediately allowed to leave as soon as the formalities were fulfilled.
The couple was relieved to know that the investigation was over, they were not asked to stay anymore and that their journey was not delayed any further. They were more than grateful that they had found their car and trailer and the body was also not tampered.
What had initially started as an emotional journey of mourning for the couple, ended up being a roller coaster ride that they have never imagined. And the dead body went through a lot before it could be put to rest forever.
The only consolation for the couple was that the people who had created such havoc for them during such a difficult time were punished. At least they would not do any such thing with anyone else in the society. The police had really done a great job!