PORTLAND, Oregon () -- Ten people were arrested in the Portland area and at least three were arrested in Clark County during a multi-agency operation to find and recover stolen cars Friday night, according to the Portland Police Bureau and Vancouver Police Department.
Police said the stolen car operation also recovered 11 cars in the Portland area and four in Clark County.
PPB said they focused on several Portland neighborhoods, including the Lents, Powellhurst-Gilbert, Pleasant Valley, Montavilla, Parkrose Heights, Hazelwood, Russell and Mill Park neighborhoods.
They also had help from a Facebook Group called PDX Stolen Cars, which was started by Titan Crawford in October 2021.
鈥淪ome people have hobbies like watching sports, gardening or rock climbing,鈥� Crawford said. 鈥淢y hobby is finding stolen cars.鈥�
Over the years, Crawford said they鈥檝e helped to recover thousands of stolen vehicles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a big help,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he police can鈥檛 be everywhere.鈥�
Crawford said the group has been working with PPB on car recovery operations since last July.
鈥淲e notify them of the location, and they get over there extremely fast,鈥� Crawford said.
Along with recovering 11 stolen cars in Portland, PPB said they made 25 traffic stops, three of which involved suspects who tried to speed away.
Crawford said they directly work with officers on shift.
鈥淸The officers] take all of our text messages and phone calls where we鈥檝e spotted a stolen car.鈥�
During the Friday operation, officers said they chased two drivers, towed five cars and also recovered one gun.
One suspect, 23-year-old Angel M. Rodriguez, allegedly tried to escape near the Glenn Jackson Bridge into Portland but was stopped when police used a spike strip. Rodriguez was arrested on 10 charges.
Officers also spotted a car they suspected of being involved in a Friday morning drive-by shooting in Vancouver. The driver was stopped and arrested.
A FOX 12 crew met with Crawford on Saturday while he was tracking a stolen Mazda.
Crawford said he believed the person who stole it was nearby, because the hood of the vehicle was still hot to the touch, from having recently been running.
Moments later, the FOX 12 crew watched with Crawford as a man approached the vehicle and tried to get inside.
鈥淲hat we witnessed was a gentleman walk up to the car and pretend like he didn鈥檛 see the public safety officer who was blocking the vehicle in,鈥� Crawford said. 鈥淭he officer notified him that it had been stolen and he ran away.鈥�
A few minutes later, a tow truck arrived.
Crawford said the vehicle was on its way back to the rightful owner.
鈥淲e assist in helping locate stolen vehicles and bring them home,鈥� Crawford said.
As the tow truck lifted the Mazda, Scott Gillis and his partner arrived - the vehicle owners.
Gillis said it was stolen early in the morning, and that it was the second time he鈥檚 dealt with a stolen vehicle in the last six months.
鈥淛ust going to have to be a little more vigilant,鈥� Gillis said.
Gillis said he was thankful to see the car all in one piece, where he was able to find all his documents.
Inside the vehicle, Gillis also noticed a bullet that he said didn鈥檛 belong to him. Upon further inspection, he pulled out a bag of bullets from the center console.
鈥淛ust when you think something can鈥檛 happen to you, it could,鈥� Gillis said.
