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July 15, 2008 - 10:12AM
Updated: July 15, 2008 - 4:55PM
Fire leads police to suspects in Q.C. car theft
Devon Hersom, John Leptich, Tribune
A group of suspects in a Queen Creek car theft set a stolen vehicle on fire early Sunday, police say, allowing a large plume of smoke to mark their exact location.
Pinal County sheriff's officials were responding to the home of the car theft victim in the 5000 block of East Santa Clara Drive at 5:30 a.m. when they spotted the smoke from a distance, leading them to the teenage suspects.
According to Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Vanessa White, the stolen vehicle was discovered on fire at Skyline Road, just east of Schnepf Road.
Police noticed a black car with four passengers driving away from the scene and tried to make a traffic stop, according to a sheriff's office news release.
The vehicle fled and after a police pursuit, the back-seat passengers exited the car and ran from the officers at the intersection of Sierra Vista Road and Red Bird Lane. The driver and the front-seat passenger stayed in the vehicle and were arrested.
The driver of the vehicle, 18-year-old Jose Urzua, was booked on suspicion of hindering prosecution and unlawful flight, according to the release. The 16-year-old front-seat passenger was booked and later released without charges.
Juan Nino, 18, a back-seat passenger, was booked on suspicion of arson and theft as a means of transportation. According to the release, the other passenger, also 18, is awaiting a felony charging review for the same two charges.
All of the teenagers were residents of the Queen Creek area, White said.
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