Thieves Stole A U-Haul, But Ditched It When They Saw What Was Inside

When a group of opportunistic thieves hijacked an SUV that had a U-Haul attached to it, they were expecting a grand bonus prize, but what they ended up with was far from what they had expected…

The Emotional Road Trip

While on a cross-country trip, one unsuspecting couple was making their way down a New Mexico highway. After hours behind the exhausted young couple decided to call it a day and retire at the nearest hotel for the night.

Resting Up For A Fresh Start

The couple parked their black SUV and U-Haul trailer outside of Albuquerque’s Residence Inn hotel. The two needed  their rest after a lengthy day of traveling. They crawled into bed and fell into a peaceful sleep, entirely unaware of what was unfolding just beyond their hotel door.

Missing In Action

As the hotel residents retired to bed, thieves were lurking in the darkness waiting for the right moment to strike. The criminals thought they had landed a valuable unexpected find in the couple’s U-Haul. When the couple woke up on September 11, 2017, they quickly discovered that their SUV and its attached trailer had been stolen. The couple were desperate and visibly shaken.

Making A Long Trip

They were making their way steadily from Oklahoma to Kirtland, New Mexico. They had arrived in Albuquerque late in the evening and had responsibly decided to head for Kirtland after a good night’s rest. It was a unique trip that would turn the couple’s lives upside down…

A Common Problem

Unfortunately for many, U-Haul thefts have become a common occurrence in recent years. Thieves often assume that a U-Haul is holding a lifetime worth of valuables as people transport goods from one destination to another. U-Hauls in hotel parking lots are also very vulnerable and common targets. This particularly case would prove far from ordinary. The thieves would soon find this out for themselves.

Completely Devastated

The couple awoke that September morning at 8:30 a.m. They were very eager to check out and return to their mission. When they saw that their SUV and U-Haul were gone they immediately panicked. They contacted the police and reported their missing vehicle and trailer. Tanner Tixier, who was one of the first officers to respond and arrive at the scene, witnessed the couple’s emotion, first-hand.

All Shook Up

American Cops certainly have one of the toughest jobs out there, often witnessing some violent and intense crimes. Despite the nature of their profession, when the officers heard the details of what was in the trailer, they knew they wouldn’t be forgetting this case anytime soon. According to the desperate couple, those thieves were driving around with a load that didn’t obtain furniture…

Shocked Many People

“This one really kind of shocked a lot of people up,” said Tanner Tixier. Most cops would be hesitant to touch a case of this nature but Tanner and his peers knew they had a duty to serve and solve the crime. A team of cops was assembled and immediately put on the urgent case.

The Discovery

To the couple’s relief, the U-Haul was found not too far away from where it had been initially stolen. It was discarded by the thieves only a few blocks from the hotel. The U-Haul was completely intact and nothing looked amiss. The cops came to the conclusion that the thieves decided to abandon the SUV and U-Haul once they found out what was held inside.

Quite A Normal Sight

Once they discovered what was in the U-Haul, they seemed to have panicked and abandoned their loot. They left the U-Haul in a residential neighborhood. A local Albuquerque resident named Michael Ayers lives right across the street from where the thieves dumped the stolen vehicle. When asked about the bizarre incident, the shocked resident didn’t hold back from having his opinion known.

A Curious Discovery

“I saw the U-Haul truck there earlier this morning and didn’t think anything of it,” said Ayers. Anyone would have felt the same. Seeing a U-Haul parked in a quiet neighborhood would never usually be considered suspicious. He came to the conclusion that new furniture was being delivered to a neighbor or a resident was moving out.

Interviewing Witnesses

The staff at the hotel were quick to offer any help that they could give the police and luckily for the couple, they didn’t have to wait around for fingerprints to be processed. The hotel’s observant patrons recalled seeing a red pickup truck at the scene of the crime. Cops had heard of this pickup truck before in other crime reports of a similar nature. Apparently, it had been reported stolen.

Sudden Breakthrough

Officers with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office spotted the red truck driving around and soon engaged in a heated  pursuit that began along the I-25 highway. The chase was long and suspenseful but the cops weren’t going to let this truck get away.

Making Headway

“BCSO deputies were involved in a pursuit with a stolen red Chevy pickup truck that tried to hit a deputy,” Officer Tixier would later confirm in a recent media interview. The common criminal driving the red truck proved that he couldn’t out run or out smart the police. He quickly found himself with no where to run and was forced to give himself up to the waiting authorities.

Three Arrests

The police successfully arrested all three of their suspects: Daniel Gonzales, Anthony Serna, and Jeremy Soliz. With previous arrests and their obvious guilt, it looked like the trio were all set to spend some time behind bars. Gonzales and Soliz already had warrants out for their arrest from a previous crime. Soliz was going away for an additional few years for trying to flee from the police in the stolen truck.

Not So Smart

While the criminals seemed to have a life of theft behind them, they still didn’t think their crime through. Every crime involving some kind of break in should feature a pair of gloves that would prevent any fingerprints being left behind. These multiple time offenders’ fingerprints were left all over the U-Haul and SUV. They had no chance of evading the law this time.

Collecting Data

The police of New Mexico are no stranger to these kinds of criminal acts. They immediately knew that these three cooks were guilty of stealing the U-Haul, but they wanted to make sure that they had collected enough evidence to put the men behind bars for their many crimes. Before anything, they decided to wait for the DNA evidence to come through before moving forward.

Common Criminals

All three men had been in custody before, but this meant very little to Serna and Soliz. They continued committing crimes despite their past run-ins with the law. At the time of the U-Haul incident, Serna and Soliz were awaiting trial whilst on bail for a different crime. Soliz also had been arrested in the past for being in possession of illegal substances.

Multiple Time Offenders

They have learned nothing from their long history with crime and the strong hand of the law. These common crooks continued to attempt to pull off one amateur job after another. This time, karma had truly caught up with them. 

In Deep Trouble

Out of the three criminals, Gonzales was perhaps in the deepest legal trouble. The young man pled guilty to receiving and transferring a stolen vehicle. At the time of U-Haul theft, he already had a warrant and a court order to take mandated counseling. He and Soliz were scheduled to appear in court just the day after their arrest.

Quick Results

The whole case was wrapped up within two days. Just 48 hours following the incident, the thieves were already charged and being sent to prison. Who was responsible for this surprisingly quick arrest? It was Serna. In the hopes that he’d get leniency, he called the police and told them where they could find the stolen trailer. He also said that he wanted to report the findings immediately, but that his accomplices stopped him from doing so.

The Moment Of Truth

The thieves never expected to find what they found in that stolen truck. They were looking forward to a car full of assets that could be resold. They believed it would hold furniture, televisions and electronic appliances. What they would eventually find was beyond their wildest thoughts…

Inside The Trailer

When these three thieves opened up the stolen U-Haul, what they found inside was a casket. The U-Haul held the casket of the young woman’s father. Shocked by the macabre and bizarre contents, the thieves immediately abandoned the SUV and U-Haul.

Crime In Vain

Unfortunately for these opportunists, fate would hand them a pretty raw deal. They found themselves on the local wanted list for stealing a truck and parking it a few blocks away. But what was the story behind the contents of the vehicle?

Why Was It There?

Many will question why this young woman was transferring her dad’s corpse in a U-Haul. The bereft daughter was transporting her father to his final resting place on short notice. A hearse was difficult and expensive to hire for a cross-country drive, so the couple chose a regular U-Haul. The delicate nature of the truck’s contents encouraged police on their search for the stolen goods.

What A Relief

The condition of her father’s remains weighed heavy on his panicked daughter. The incident was bizarre and the young woman was distraught at the thought of her father’s body being disrespected in any way by the depraved criminals.  She begged the police to check on her father’s body.

Checking On The Body

Upon checking out the stolen U-Haul and SUV, the authorities searched the casket’s contents and were able to assure the woman that the body was in good condition and had been untouched by the thieves. Sadly, the incident would not yet be resolved.

Looking For Clues

Though there was no law in New Mexico that condemned people for transporting dead bodies over state lines but the local cops still needed to hold the body for the duration of the evidence’s processing. Despite the strange nature of the stolen item, it remained in custody until the thieves got what was coming to them.

Back On Track

Once the crooks were eventually processed for their crimes, the young couple was given back their U-Haul and SUV. They returned to the road to offer the woman’s father the final resting place each dignified human being truly deserves.

Job Well Done

In the end, it seems all parties got what they deserved. The couple got their SUV and U-Haul, the police got the crooks and were able to make the state of New Mexico just a little safer for its local residents. Officer Tixier closed the case with this statement, “[The body was returned] For the family, absolutely, that’s our biggest relief.”