Crime & Safety
Alleged Serial Car Thief Apprehended
Hartford man is suspected of stealing several Honda Civics from Boulevard and Kane Street parking lots as part of a five-day spree, police say.
A 20-year-old suspected serial car thief with an apparent taste for older Honda Civics was taken into custody Thursday after a five-day spree, said.
Angel Perez of 851 Capitol Ave. in Hartford was believed to be behind at least five stolen autos, including four Honda Civics, from July 2-7 in West Hartford, Hartford and East Hartford, police said.
Perez was held on bail totaling $150,000 after his arraignment Friday in Hartford Superior Court on three felony counts of third-degree larceny, criminal impersonation and interfering with police, according to court affidavits.
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Perez was arrested in a parking lot at the Kane Street Plaza, where one stolen vehicle was recovered and another was allegedly stolen, police said.
Perez, who was released from jail June 30 after serving part of a five-year sentence for auto theft, allegedly told an investigator “they ain’t locking people up for these crimes anymore because of new laws.”
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According to police, he said he had “been through this before and only got six months.”
On July 2, police said Perez was caught on a video surveillance camera arriving in a parking lot at 1062 Boulevard in a stolen Civic, and leaving in another stolen Civic. He later returned on foot for the first stolen Civic, police said.
Perez is suspected of repeatedly trading up, sometimes down, then abandoning allegedly stolen Hondas, including an Accord, in parking lots on Kane Street, New Park Avenue in Hartford and in East Hartford on Burnside Avenue, police said.
A sergeant in the community interaction team, which conducted a surveillance Thursday near the Kane Street Plaza, described Perez’s technique as “drive-them and dump-them.”
All five vehicles, which ranged from 1990 to 1999 models, were recovered virtually undamaged, police said. No items in the cars were immediately reported missing except for a radio in a 1992 Civic that the owner told police was broken.
Three locally owned Hondas were allegedly stolen at two addresses on the Boulevard and on Kane Street. Their values ranged from $2,990 to $3,600, police said.
Perez has a history of convictions for larceny, violation of probation and reckless driving, court records show.
“They aren’t going to give me much time for this bull-**** charge,” Perez allegedly told police.
Perez is scheduled to return to court Aug. 1.
