'Half Measure' Used To Hide Car Theft With Stolen Plates Fails: NRPD

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A car theft suspect who tried to cover his tracks instead drew the notice of detectives, authorities said.

On Tuesday, at about 11:30 a.m., New Rochelle detectives encountered a suspicious vehicle traveling on North Avenue that matched the description of a recently stolen vehicle out of Greenwich, Connecticut. The vehicle had one Connecticut license plate affixed to it, although two plates are required by Connecticut State Law.

The vehicle was parked by the driver, later identified as Juan Pablo Castillo. The 26-year-old New Rochelle man then entered a building on Anderson Street.

The vehicle’s license plate was checked by detectives and it was found to be a stolen license plate out of New York City. Detectives watched the vehicle while waiting for Castillo to return. At about 2 p.m., he returned to the vehicle and was placed under arrest.

Catillo also had an active arrest warrant for burglary out of Pennsylvania. The former State College, Pennsylvania man was charged with felony criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree and misdemeanor criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree.