YUCCA, AZ — Two suspects have been arrested following a multi-agency investigation into a train burglary that resulted in the recovery of nearly $490,000 in stolen merchandise.
On Thursday, June 25, at approximately 8:32 a.m., Deputies and Detectives with the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Milepost 37 on Interstate 40 to assist BNSF Police after a box truck was discovered concealed in a ravine near the railroad tracks. The truck was found with its doors open and numerous boxes stacked nearby.
Due to recent train burglaries in the area, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) responded and established a perimeter while the DPS Kingman Ranger helicopter provided aerial support. Officers located the disabled truck unoccupied and discovered merchandise that had been removed from a passing freight train. The recovered merchandise was valued at approximately $194,240.
Detectives from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office then worked alongside investigators from BNSF Police, Homeland Security, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, and the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office.
During the investigation, La Paz County Sheriff’s deputies stopped a second box truck near Milepost 147 on Highway 95. During the stop, one passenger fled and jumped into the Colorado River before being taken into custody by the department’s boating division. The driver was found in possession of the title to the disabled box truck located earlier in the investigation.
The second vehicle was loaded with merchandise believed to have been stolen from the train. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators recovered an additional $295,680 worth of stolen merchandise.
Authorities arrested Gabriel Eusebio Coronel-Guerrero, 22, of Mexico, and Angel Isaac Ochoa, 21, of Mesa. Both were booked into the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility on charges of Burglary, Theft, and Trafficking in Stolen Property.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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