Bait car bust has APD smiling

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - We have seen it time after time criminals caught on camera stealing Albuquerque Police bait cars but a recent arrest has APD thinking they’ve put a little fear in car thieves.

Albuquerque Police arrested Tanisha Alexander, 32 on October 7, 2012 for auto theft.

Detectives with the Auto Theft Unit said she was one of 11 people arrested during their Balloon Fiesta Tactical Plan.

“We go and look for any kind of criminals of opportunity that might be trying to target people from out of state who came in for balloon fiesta,” said Sergeant Art Gamboa.

Alexander’s spin in the bait car was caught on camera and from the moment she got in the car she looked nervous, even panicky.

“You could just kind of see she was stressed out,” Gamboa said.

The video shows Alexander drive for a little bit then stop, get out and even walk away but she comes back a few minutes later and takes off again.

As she is driving she begins talking to herself.

“Saying things like it’s their bad for leaving their car open like that so she jumped in,” said Gamboa.

Most of what Alexander is saying is inaudible but a few minutes into her trip she starts questioning herself about how easy it was to steal the car.

Before police pull her over she says, “Wonder if it’s a bait car,” she asks herself that question over and over then says “you’re tripping girl.”

Sergeant Gamboa told News 13 that is exactly what they want to see because it means their message is sinking in.

“Really that’s our whole goal, is to have criminals in their mind thinking that every car out there is a bait car because it quite possibly could be, we have so many different kinds of vehicles out there,” Gamboa said.

When officers pulled Alexander over reality sank in, “it’s a bait car,” she said.

Detectives say most bait car thieves are not as talkative as Alexander but when they do talk it gives officers insight into how the thieves operate.

Like man other auto theft suspects Tanisha Alexander has been in trouble before.

Her online court records show arrests for everything from drugs and shoplifting to assault and firing a gun from a car.