Arrests made in theft of $250K Ford GT

SAN DIEGO  — Two men suspected of stealing a $250,000 Ford GT from a Rancho Santa Fe house and other luxury items, including two Porsches and a Picasso lithograph, have been arrested as part of a burglary ring that operated in the county.

The stolen cars and property were worth $500,000 to $1 million, and included hundreds of items — even a 4-foot tiki — taken in at least three burglaries, San Diego police said Thursday.

Detectives arrested Gabriel Castano, 30, and George Moore, 48, in Carmel Valley on Monday night as they were driving in two separate cars, police said. One of them was wearing a gold necklace stolen in one of the burglaries, said San Diego auto theft Detective Tim Coyle.

The pair is accused of stealing the 2005 limited-edition Ford GT and other items from the Rancho Santa Fe home sometime in June or July while the house was unoccupied.

The blue-and-white striped car’s chopped-up remains were discovered in a Vista warehouse last month.

The 5.4-liter, 550 horsepower supercharged engine, transmission, wheels, suspension and wiring harness were located in a storage unit in San Marcos, Coyle said. The engine alone was worth $40,000.

“We have the whole car except for the seats, carpet and the steering wheel,” Coyle said.

Castano and Moore are also suspected in the Feb. 16 burglary of a University City home in which jewelry, computers and a 2006 Porsche Cayman were stolen, and a June 12 heist at a La Jolla home where a 1995 Porsche Carrera was taken from the garage.

In that theft, also stolen were the lithograph of Pablo Picasso’s “Girl with Red Beret,” valued at about $5,000, jewelry and watches worth about $25,000, and a black Glock handgun.

Castano and Moore each pleaded not guilty Thursday to 11 counts, including owning and operating a chop shop, auto theft, grand theft and receiving stolen property. If convicted, Castano could be sentenced to up to nine years and eight months in prison.

Moore, who has a prior conviction from 1984 for residential burglary in Los Angeles, faces a possible 13-year sentence if convicted.

San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski reduced bail for each defendant from $500,000 to $200,000 but noted that it’s a moot point because both men were on probation when they were arrested. They are being held on a no-bail status because of the alleged probation violations.

Defense attorney Peter Liss argued in court for the lower bail, noting that the men had been arrested on suspicion of residential burglary, but those charges were not filed.

Coyle said the property recovered included a Vincent Van Gogh print, cameras, swords, coin collections, silver and many other valuables. One woman reported she lost $50,000 in jewelry, Coyle said.

Both Porsches were recovered intact. But, Coyle said, “They had been driving them.”

The valuable Ford GT cars were manufactured in model years 2005 and 2006, said Bernie Katz, who sells exotic cars and owns lots in Texas and Virginia.

“It’s a supercar,” Katz said. Only 4,038 of them were made.

Built low to the ground and coming supercharged from the factory, the car was modeled after the legendary high-performance Ford GT40 sports car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in a row.

The car retained its value due to the limited production, Katz said. Parts for it are expensive and hard to get. A Ford GT clamshell sells for $16,000 to $20,000, Katz said.

The cars are also extremely hard to steal due to an electronic push-button entry, Katz said.

Deputy District Attorney John Philpott said after the arraignment that cases like this are rare because it’s “not that easy to turn around and sell” a stolen exotic car like the Ford.

Authorities have not named the Ford’s owner. Some have speculated online it may have belonged to Phil Mickelson, but his spokesman said it was not the golfer’s car.

Detectives are trying to locate the owners of all of the stolen property that has been found.