GARDEN GROVE : Officer Honored for Finding Stolen Cars

Garden Grove Police Officer James Tucker has become quite adept at spotting details that indicate a stolen vehicle.

Besides the obvious--shattered car windows and punched out door locks--Tucker looks for signs that a car is being driven by someone who isn’t familiar with it.

“I’ll notice cars being driven with interior lights on . . . drivers who are looking at the dash or fiddling with controls,” he explained.

Tucker’s eye for detail resulted in the recovery of 29 stolen vehicles last year. Fourteen of those were recovered with suspects still inside. Altogether, 17 people were arrested for auto theft as a result of Tucker’s heads-up police work.

In recognition of his efforts, the 28-year-old Tucker has been chosen the Auto Theft Officer of the Year. The award, which he will receive at a ceremony today at the Santa Ana Elks Club, is sponsored by the Auto Theft Advisory Committee. The committee is a consortium of local law enforcement officials, insurance organizations such as the Auto Club of Southern California, and other auto-related businesses.

According to Auto Club spokeswoman Michelle Munger, Tucker has recovered more than twice as many cars as any of the 26 other officers who were nominated for the award.

Each officer is awarded one point for every recovery and two points if the car is recovered with a suspect. Tucker was awarded 43 points, while most of the other finalists received 20 to 23 points, Munger said.

One of Tucker’s cases occurred last August. After spotting a car matching the description of a stolen vehicle, Tucker checked the car’s license number and found that it had been reported missing. When he began pursuit, the two male suspects fled on foot into an apartment building, Tucker said.

While waiting for backup officers to arrive, Tucker said, he overheard a conversation through an open apartment window. He heard a man saying that he had stolen a car and just “ditched” a police officer.

Tucker said he tapped on the window, told the man he had overheard the conversation and to step outside and give himself up.

The startled suspect did as he was told, Tucker said.

“Most cases aren’t that easy,” Tucker said. “But sometimes you do get lucky.”

More typically, he notices something out of the ordinary such as a car parked in an odd place.

In one case, he noticed that a driver appeared to be too young to be driving a large pickup truck.

He estimates that he has recovered about 60 vehicles in the 2 1/2 years that he has worked as a police officer.

Last month however, Tucker was moved from the night shift to a daytime bicycle beat--a job that offers little opportunity to track stolen cars.

Top Cops

The Orange County Auto Theft Advisory Committee will present its Vehicle Theft Officer of the Year award today to Garden Grove Police Officer James Tucker. The following officers were this year’s other nominees.

Richard Alexander, Anaheim

Eric Oden, Brea

Bill Kohanek, Buena Park

David Goerke, Costa Mesa

Scott Foster, Cypress

Bobby Miramontes, Fountain Valley

Dean Michael, Huntington Beach

Jim Eppstein, Irvine

Michael Hollenbeck, La Habra

Kenneth Morrell, Laguna Beach

Wally Davis, La Palma

Dan Kelley, Los Alamitos

Tom Weizoerick, Newport Beach

William P. Youngson, Sheriff’s Department/West

Steve Hill, Sheriff’s Department/North

Ray Cunningham, Sheriff’s Department/South

Victor Tapia, Orange

Scott Audiss, Placentia

Daryl Alison, San Clemente

Charles Jarusek, Santa Ana

Joe Miller, Seal Beach

Lane Macallister, Tustin

Stephen Miles, CHP/San Juan Capistrano

James P. Ward, CHP/Santa Ana

Cynthia Huhn, CHP/Westminster