Stratford Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Car Theft Charge

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal car theft offense, according to officials.

Edwin Cordero, 20, entered his plea in federal court in Bridgeport on Wednesday, Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Leonard C. Boyle announced.

The FBI, state police and local police have been investigating multiple car theft rings in Connecticut, and violent crimes that are being committed using stolen vehicles, according to officials.

“The investigation revealed that Cordero, Christopher Mulkern and others have stolen numerous motor vehicles, and used the stolen vehicles to travel throughout Connecticut and to neighboring states to steal other vehicles and the valuables inside, including credit cards, cellular telephones, and firearms,” officials wrote in a news release. “Cordero and Mulkern typically frequented upper middleclass neighborhoods to go ‘car-checking’ or ‘jigging,’ which involves an attempt to open the door of a motor vehicle and, if successful, steal the vehicle and/or valuables inside.”

Cordero and Mulkern stole a Porsche Panamera from a residence in Westport on Dec. 1, 2020, according to the news release. Shortly after midnight Dec. 2, police in Westerly, Rhode Island, identified the stolen Porsche and tried to stop the car, which was being driven recklessly at speeds of at least 86 mph between Rhode Island and Connecticut, according to the news release. Police were forced to stop the pursuit for safety reasons, the news release said.

Several hours later, about 4 a.m., Mulkern, Cordero and others used the Porsche to steal a Dodge Challenger from a home in Milford, the news release said. That evening, Stratford police tried to stop the Porsche, which then rammed a car, and drove up on a sidewalk and through a red light, hitting and flipping a second vehicle, according to the news release. The Porsche took Interstate 95 into Bridgeport, where Mulkern and Cordero were apprehended trying to enter a stolen Audi A4, the news release said.

“A search of the stolen Audi revealed approximately 13 key fobs for other vehicles, and a search of the Porsche revealed five cellphones,” officials wrote in the release. “In addition, Cordero possessed a key fob for the stolen Dodge Challenger, which was subsequently located parked on Main Street in Bridgeport, and Mulkern possessed two stolen credit cards.”

Cordero pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a stolen vehicle, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3.

Mulkern pleaded guilty to the same charge in April and awaits sentencing.

Cordero and Mulkern, who are both detained, have also agreed to pay restitution to at least seven owners of vehicles they stole and/or damaged, officials said.