Phone left behind helps track stolen car

Richard Cervantez, 22, was arrested Sunday on an expected charge of auto theft that occurred on Nov. 18 in Santa Rosa Springs.

A Maricopa woman called Maricopa Police Department Nov. 18 to report her vehicle being stolen. She said it was taken without her permission by Cervantez.

The woman stated that she arrived at a residence on North Cielo Lane to pick up Cervantez “as a favor.” She said she left her vehicle running when she went to the front door of the residence.

While speaking to another person in the household, she saw Cervantez getting into her vehicle. She yelled to Cervantez to not take her vehicle, and he allegedly drove off anyway.

Officers took the woman’s information and statement, logging the vehicle as stolen. The woman’s phone was still in the car, allowing police to track the vehicle through the phone’s GPS.

Cervantez and the vehicle ended up approximately an hour and a half away in Marana. Police recovered the vehicle as well as Cervantez, who was immediately placed into custody for an active warrant. Officers located the vehicle with the assistance of a passenger that was with Cervantez, who showed officers where they bailed from the vehicle in an attempt to hide from authorities. This passenger is not identified in the police report.