Ricky Sanchez isn’t singly responsible for hundreds of automobile steering wheel airbag thefts that have occurred around Philadelphia since last May, but police detectives think that last week’s arrest of Sanchez is a good start in solving the crime pattern.
Investigators from the Major Crimes Unit pinned six airbag thefts on Sanchez when they arrested him on April 1. Police believe Sanchez is part of a larger conspiracy that may be responsible for many more of the auto break-ins, which have mostly occurred in the Northeast and Northwest sections of the city. Typically, the thieves fence the stolen airbags through local salvage yards and auto repair shops, which re-sell and install the devices into the cars of unsuspecting legitimate customers.
Police have used fingerprint and video evidence in an effort to identify the thieves, who have been targeting Honda cars and utility vehicles almost exclusively. Typically, the thieves strike between midnight and 6 a.m.
Sanchez, 20, of the 3000 block of Ormes St., has been linked to a North Philly salvage yard where detectives found some of the stolen airbags, according to a police source. He has been charged with six counts of theft, criminal mischief and related crimes. ••
