APTOPIX Train Cargo Thefts Los AngelesLOS ANGELES, California — It’s been 121 years since the Wild Bunch blew apart a Union Pacific train in Wyoming and stole $30,000 in the famous Great Train Robbery depicted in countless movies.
Back then, the Union Pacific Police Department was on the job, chasing down outlaws Jesse James, the Dalton Gang, and the Younger brothers, who all targeted trains carrying valuable cargo traveling between America’s two coasts.
Now, in 2022, the fabled successors to the Pinkerton Detective Agency are once again called to tame the Wild West. Six Union Pacific agents have arrived to stop a new trend that has seen $5 million in goods stolen during the past year from trains leaving Los Angeles’s beleaguered ports.
NEWSOM’S ENDLESS COVID MANDATES SPAWNED CALIFORNIA LOOTING CRIME WAVE, OFFICIALS SAY
“This is a legendary police force dating back to the 1800s, and our officers are excited that they’re here to curtail this huge crime problem along the tracks,” Los Angeles Police Department Capt. German Hurtado told the Washington Examiner. “In the Old West, they brought robbers to justice, and I’m sure it will be no different in our era.”
Every day, approximately 100 ships wait offshore to unload their cargo containers while extra cars are added to trains to move the goods faster. The slow-moving trains now span 2 miles, and when they pull into the Union Pacific depot near downtown Los Angeles, they are an easy target for plunder.
Sometimes the trains are stopped for an hour — and waiting gangs are ready. Groups of up to 30 people open the containers and quickly offload merchandise ranging from television sets to medical supplies to personal items shipped via UPS and FedEx. Boxes are strewn across the tracks epitomizing the frenzied free-for-all that has become a daily occurrence.
“This isn’t only a financial and supply-and-demand issue. You see mementos of people’s belongings,” Hurtado said. “We found an urn containing someone’s ashes on the track.”
While the theft is happening nationwide, the biggest haul arguably comes from this depot on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles where trains are fully loaded from their port departure. The tracks, lowered in the 1960s to keep the eyesore away from public view, run alongside a residential area of 100,000 people.
“Now, 60 years later, it’s a safe haven and concealment for the thieves to pick through, providing them cover,” Hurtado said. “Only a security guard was on staff there, and when he gets a gun pointed at him, he thinks ‘I’m not going to get killed over this.’”
Short-staffed LAPD officers have done the best they can to patrol the area, but Hurtado’s division only has five units for 15 square miles.
Enter the Union Pacific agents who are now there full time. They were pulled from Houston and New Orleans and are staying in hotels until more permanent staff can be added, Hurtado said.
The agents carry guns and have full intrastate police powers. They have the authority to make arrests and book suspects. However, trying to prosecute the suspects will not be as easy as it is in Texas and Louisiana. Union Pacific questioned LA District Attorney George Gascon whether any serious charges had been filed for the 100 arrests made during the past year.
“Criminals are caught and arrested … charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense, and the criminal is released after paying a nominal fine,” the company said in a letter dated Dec. 20, 2021. “These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than twenty-four hours.”
The DA’s office has not contacted Union Pacific for any court case, which is standard in criminal cases, as Union Pacific is the victim, the letter stated.
Gascon was blasted for the revolving criminal door that has led to a 160% increase in theft during the past year. In October 2021, the increase was 356% over the same month in 2020, according to the letter.
“Criminals boast to our officers that charges will be pled down to simple trespassing — which bears no serious consequence,” Union Pacific wrote. “Without any judicial deterrence or consequence, it is no surprise that over the past year UP has witnessed the significant increase in criminal rail theft described above.”
Hurtado said his officers have encountered suspects on the tracks who insist nothing will happen to them.
“They say, ‘I don’t know why you even bother arresting us, you’re just going to give me a ticket. Why do you bother arresting us? They will let us go. I’ll be out before you finish the report,’” Hurtado said.
The Union Pacific agents have arrived within the past month, and thefts already appear to be down. Hurtado has monthly meetings with the company’s chief of police and other law enforcement partners, such as the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. They have discussed methods to combat crime and create a full-time agent staff, which has been in the works for months.
One thing they can’t fix is Gascon’s stance of downgrading serious felonies, including murder, to less serious charges. This helps Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate of keeping the prison population low.
Gascon has not responded to the letter, a Union Pacific spokesperson said. However, the DA’s office said it is committed to working with law enforcement at the ports and on the tracks.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Some cases presented to our office by Union Pacific have been filed, such as burglary and grand theft, while others have been declined due to insufficient evidence,” said Alex Bastian, Gascon’s special adviser. “We make charging decisions based on the evidence.”
