Stolen Ripon truck recovered when suspect hits gridlock traffic in Livermore

Social media helped law enforcement locate a suspect as he was traveling toward the Bay Area in a Chevrolet truck stolen from Ripon on Monday morning.

Ripon Police believe there are other suspects who remain at large who helped to steal the Chevy along with two other trucks, a trailer and a variety of property from neighborhoods near the Jack Tone Golf Course in southwest Ripon on Monday morning.

In addition to the vehicles thefts, suspects broke into four cars in the area and used a garage door opener in one of them to steal from a garage, said Ripon Police Lt. Steve Merchant. They took more than $5,000 in property including a computer, camera, tools, an MP3 player and three bicycles.

The thefts took place some time between midnight and 4 a.m. on Monday, Merchant said.

One of the victims, who had a lifted Chevy truck with a custom yellow paint job, posted a picture of his vehicle on social media.

A friend of the victim who saw the social media post spotted the truck and suspect when they were both stuck in traffic on westbound Interstate-580 in Livermore, said California Highway Patrol Officer Derek Reed.

He said traffic was at a standstill due to an overturned big rig that spilled frozen chicken on the highway.

The friend called 911 to report the truck and the CHP confirmed that it had been reported stolen. It didn’t take long for officers to find the truck.

“Since it was a lifted, yellow Chevy truck, it pretty much stuck out like sore thumb,” Reed said. “There was nowhere he could go in traffic, he wasn’t anywhere near an exit, so we set up and waited for him.”

Leandro Inguanzo, 20, of Oakland, was arrested without incident on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving without a license.

The two other Chevrolet trucks and trailer were found abandoned in a neighborhood close to where they were stolen.

Merchant said detectives are working on locating the stolen property.

He said it’s unusual that the vehicles were abandoned so close by; it’s possible the people who were driving them might have been spooked.

It appears the thefts were committed by a crew that were targeting 4x4 vehicles to take to the Bay Area.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Stolen Ripon truck recovered when suspect hits gridlock traffic in Livermore."