Latest news with #HualapaiNationPoliceDepartment
Fox News
06-04-2025
- Fox News
Illegal immigrants charged in Nike shoe heist as cartels rob US cargo trains
Two people are behind bars after the latest arrests of suspected thieves from Mexico allegedly nabbing millions of dollars of Nike sneakers in elaborate railroad heists in the Mojave Desert. On March 27, the Hualapai Nation Police Department in Arizona pulled over the driver of a maroon Chevy Tahoe "suspected to be involved in train robberies in the area," according to a statement from the agency. As officers conducted the traffic stop, eight people jumped out of the car and fled. Police said they located stolen Nike shoes nearby, and the driver of the vehicle, a man from Mexico, was arrested. During the investigation, police pulled over a woman driving a white Toyota 4Runner for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. Upon approaching that vehicle, officers "observed evidence of criminal activity" also linked to the train robberies, according to police. The woman was ordered out of the vehicle by officers, and, despite initially complying, she reentered the vehicle and sped away, police said. As she attempted to evade authorities, she allegedly struck a patrol officer, who was not injured. The woman dodged police for approximately 80 miles before losing control of her vehicle in a construction zone and smashing into a guardrail near the Arizona-California border, police said. She was ejected from the vehicle and transported to a hospital with minor injuries. Both suspects were in the U.S. illegally and have been booked into the Mohave County Adult Detention Center. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. The heist comes as authorities have seen a rise in railroad heists targeting Nike shoes between California and Arizona over the past two years. In February, a grand jury returned an indictment against 11 defendants, including nine illegal immigrants, from a theft of Nike merchandise being shipped through northern Arizona, according to the Department of Justice. Authorities said the Sinaloa Cartel stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in Nike shoes from a moving BNSF train in Arizona in January. "Criminal organizations that specialize in stealing from trains, which consist primarily of Mexican citizens with connections to the Mexican State of Sinaloa, have used the technique of cutting air hoses to control where trains with valuable cargo come to a stop," the DOJ said in a statement. "This act is very dangerous and can cause the trains, which travel up to 70 miles per hour, to derail." Thieves will often leave boxes of stolen goods along railroad tracks for a second crew to pick up and transport to California, where the products will be sold online, according to federal prosecutors. Nike did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
USA Today
31-03-2025
- USA Today
Two people arrested in connection to train robberies of Nike shoes
Two people arrested in connection to train robberies of Nike shoes Two people who police say were linked to train robberies of Nike footwear were arrested in Arizona last week. The Hualapai Nation Police Department said two unnamed suspects, a male and a female who had entered the U.S. illegally, were taken into custody. The first arrest occurred on March 27 when officers pulled over a vehicle suspected of being connected to the heists. According to a news release, eight people fled the scene when the Maroon Chevy Tahoe was pulled over. The male driver, who is from Mexico, was arrested, and Nike shoes were found near the vehicle, police said. More: Train heists in remote desert areas of the West have netted millions in Nike shoes Suspect leads police on 80-mile chase According to the Hualapai Nation Police, a patrol sergeant and officer pulled over another vehicle on Highway 66 after the female driver didn't "yield to an emergency vehicle." The sergeant ordered the woman to get out of the white Toyota 4Runner. Although she initially followed instructions, police said she "re-entered the vehicle, shifted it into gear, and accelerated away from the scene at a high rate of speed." The officer was hit by the vehicle during the woman's attempted escape but did not suffer any injuries. Police pursued the woman for about 80 miles until she lost control at a construction area near the Arizona-California state line. Per the department, she struck a guardrail and was ejected from the vehicle. She was taken to a hospital in Mohave Valley for minor injuries. According to police, both suspects were transported to the Mohave County Adult Detention Center. Police did not specify if they were charged. Robbers stealing millions worth of Nike merchandise in train heists The arrests come amid a string of train heists targeting Nike shoes around the West. In less than a year, at least 10 such train heists in California and Arizona have netted about $2 million worth of Nike shoes, USA TODAY confirmed in February after the Los Angeles Times first reported the string of robberies. More than 60 people are being charged in federal court in connection with the 10 heists, as well as other thefts in 2023 and 2024. The robberies work like a 'human conveyor belt,' with the goods passed from the train to the ground, to a truck, according to Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at CargoNet, a private company that provides supply chain theft intelligence to law enforcement. 'It's done fast. It's fast as lightning,' Lewis told the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, adding that the thieves like conducting the heists in isolated areas so they have time to flee. 'A lot of those areas you can't get to other than with a helicopter ... You can't even get to some of those rail tracks with off-road vehicles.' Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@ Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Yahoo
Two arrested over series of desert train heists that saw Nike shoes worth millions stolen
Arizona authorities have arrested two people in connection with a series of train heists that resulted in the theft of Nike shoes worth millions. On Thursday, officials with the Hualapai Nation Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a maroon Chevy Tahoe around 2:40 a.m. believed to be involved in multiple area hijacks. After pulling the car over, eight people fled the vehicle. The male driver was detained. Police located some of the stolen shoes near the car, the police department said in a news release. In another traffic stop Thursday, a white Toyota 4Runner was pulled over on Highway 66 as part of the investigation into the robberies. The female driver was stopped after failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. Police approached the vehicle and noticed evidence of criminal activity. The patrol sergeant issued a verbal command for the driver to exit the vehicle. The woman initially exited the car, but returned to the driver's seat, shifted the vehicle into gear and sped away from the scene at a high speed. As she attempted to flee, police say the car struck a patrol officer. The officer did not sustain any injuries. Officers initiated a pursuit of the fleeing suspect that spanned 80 miles and concluded near the Arizona-California border on Mile Marker 1 on Interstate 40. The driver lost control of the vehicle near a construction zone, collided with a guardrail and was thrown out of the car. The woman sustained minor injuries and was transported to Valley View Medical Center in Mohave Valley for treatment. Both drivers were booked into the Mohave County Adult Detention Center for their alleged involvement in the case. Police did not disclose additional details about the alleged crimes or the suspects' identities except to say they were both from Mexico and in the U.S. illegally. Police have been investigating a series of freight train robberies near the Mojave Desert. Thieves have allegedly stolen at least $2m worth of Nike sneakers, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officials are currently investigating 10 similar robberies. In one January robbery near Perrin, Arizona, thieves cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train and ran off with more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes worth more than $440,000. The shoes went on sale earlier this month for $225 a pair. Eleven people charged in the January burglary have pleaded not guilty and were all ordered detained until trial, with Arizona magistrate judges concluding the defendants posed a risk of fleeing from authorities. All 11 defendants are charged with possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate shipment. Ten of the 11 are Mexicans who were in the United States illegally. Another defendant is a Mexican citizen who was in asylum proceedings in the United States, authorities said in court records. Thieves typically scout merchandise on rail lines that parallel Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains, such as when they are changing tracks and opening containers, said Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk's CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona. Lewis told the Times that the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by associates working at warehouses or trucking companies. The suspects are aided by accomplices in 'follow vehicles,' which track the rail cars. The loot is tossed off the train after it comes to a halt — either for a scheduled stop or because an air hose has been cut, according to Brynna Cooke, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent cited in affidavits filed in federal court. Thefts from cargo trains cost the nation's six largest freight railroads more than $100 million last year because of a combination of the value of the stolen goods and the cost of repairs to railcars the thieves damaged, and the problem is getting worse in recent years as the thefts have become more organized and sophisticated. The Association of American Railroads trade group estimates that the number of thefts jumped roughly 40% last year to 65,000 nationwide. The railroads have invested millions in measures to help prevent such thefts, but it's not like they can easily restrict access to the more than 140,000 miles of track they operate across the country. It crosses remote, rural areas and cuts through the heart of many cities carrying millions of shipments of everything from bulk commodities like coal and grain to raw materials like rock. Automobiles and metal shipping containers filled with nearly every kind of product imaginable that's imported or exported also are transported. The rail trade group said additional federal enforcement and tougher penalties are needed to deter the thefts, which are a chronic problem. The railroads estimate that only about 1 out of every 10 theft attempts result in an arrest, and many of the people who are arrested are repeat offenders. One railroad even reported arresting the same individual five times in a single day. With reporting from the Associated Press
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Yahoo
Two suspects arrested in connection with train heist of Nike shoes
Police arrested two suspects in Arizona on Thursday in connection with train heists that yielded Nike shoes. Over the last year, thieves have targeted freight trains traveling through the Mojave Desert in the southwestern U.S. Many of the heists have taken aim at millions of dollars' worth of Nike sneakers, the Los Angeles Times first reported in February. Authorities are investigating at least 10 similar robberies. The Hualapai Nation Police Department pulled over a maroon Chevy Tahoe at 2:40 a.m. on Thursday that was 'suspected to be involved in train robberies in the area,' the agency said in a post on Facebook. It was not clear how police connected the vehicle to the robberies. Officers detained the driver, a man from Mexico, as eight people fled the car while it was stopped, police said. Officers found the stolen Nike shoes nearby. Police said in the same post they made another arrest during the investigation: a woman driving a white Toyota 4Runner that was stopped for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. When officers approached the car, they 'observed evidence of criminal activity' that police said was also related to the train robberies. It was not clear what criminal activity was observed or how officials connected it to the robberies. Officers asked the driver to get out of her car, which she did at first, before getting back into the car and driving away from the scene, police said. During her attempt to flee, she hit a patrol officer, who did not sustain any injuries. Police chased the suspect for approximately 80 miles before they say the woman's car lost control in a construction zone near the Arizona-California state line, hit a guard rail and ejected the driver. She had minor injuries and was taken to the Valley View Medical Center in Mohave Valley, Arizona, for treatment, police said in the statement. Both of the suspects were booked in the Mohave County Adult Detention Center for their alleged involvement in the train robberies case. Police also said both suspects were in the U.S. illegally. This article was originally published on
NBC News
30-03-2025
- NBC News
Two suspects arrested in connection with train heist of Nike shoes
Police arrested two suspects Thursday in connection with train heists that yielded Nike shoes in Arizona. Over the last year, thieves have targeted freight trains traveling through the Mojave Desert in the southwestern U.S. Many of the heists have taken aim at millions of dollars of Nike sneakers, the Los Angeles Times first reported in February. Authorities are investigating at least 10 similar robberies. The Hualapai Nation Police Department pulled over a maroon Chevy Tahoe at 2:40 a.m. on Thursday that was "suspected to be involved in train robberies in the area," the agency said in a post on Facebook. It was not clear how police connected the vehicle to the robberies. Officers detained the driver, a man from Mexico, as eight people fled the car while it was stopped, police said. Officers found the stolen Nike shoes nearby. Police said in the same post they made another arrest during the investigation: A woman driving a white Toyota 4Runner that was stopped for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. When officers approached the car, they "observed evidence of criminal activity" that police said was also related to the train robberies. It was not clear what criminal activity was observed or how officials connected it to the robberies. Officers asked the driver to get out of her car, which she did at first, before getting back into the car and driving away from the scene, police said. During her attempt to flee, she hit a patrol officer, who did not receive any injuries. Police chased the suspect for approximately 80 miles before the woman's car lost control in a construction zone near the Arizona-California state line, hit a guard rail and ejected the driver. She had minor injuries and was taken to the Valley View Medical Center in Mohave Valley, Arizona, for treatment, police said in the statement. Both of the suspects were booked in the Mohave County Adult Detention Center for their involvement in the train robberies case. Police also said both suspects were in the U.S. illegally.
