3 arrested while driving stolen rental cars in Palm Springs

Three suspects were arrested after police spotted them driving around town in stolen rental cars that were recently taken from storage lots near the Palm Springs International Airport.

Officers with the Palm Springs Police Department arrested 34-year-old Edith Avalos-Leon of Cathedral City, 27-year-old Santos Felix Junior of Palm Springs and 29-year-old Eduardo Garcia of Palm Springs.

All three of the suspects were taken into custody between April 13-19. Police began investigating after receiving several reports of rental cars being stolen over the past few weeks.

Edith Avalos-Leon was seen driving one of the stolen rental cars, a black 2015 Nissan Rogue, around 5:50 p.m. on Monday, April 13 in the 100 block of North Calle Encilia, according to police. She was arrested for vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Three days later, suspect Santos Felix Junior was seen in the driver’s seat of another stolen rental car, a white 2014 Dodge Charger, in the 65000 block of Ramon Road in Cathedral City. Officers said he ran from the car when police approached him, but he was taken into custody after a brief foot chase.

Junior was arrested for vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, possession of a controlled substance for sale, prohibited person in possession of ammunition, and a felony warrant, according to the P.S.P.D.

The third suspect, Eduardo Garcia, was arrested on Sunday, April 19 when police saw him sitting in the driver’s seat of a white 2014 Ford Taurus that was recently stolen from a rental lot. Police located the stolen car in the 400 block of South Calle Encilia.

Garcia was arrested for violating his parole and additional charges are pending further investigation. Officers said the Riverside Auto Theft Detail (R.A.I.D.) is handling the investigation.

It’s unclear how many rental cars were recently stolen, but authorities said the Cathedral City Police Department, the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, the Colton Police Department, and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department have also each recovered one of the rental cars stolen from the Palm Springs International Airport rental car storage lots.

The Palm Springs Police Department is working with the various rental car companies to enhance security procedures in their storage lots to curb vehicle theft.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about these incidents is aked to call the Palm Springs Police Department at 760-323-8116 or Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867.