On March 28, 2021 at 8:30 p.m., two officers were patrolling the parking lot of a motel along the 1500 block of E Colorado St. While doing so, they conducted a records check on an unoccupied vehicle that was parked in the lot and discovered the VIN on the dashboard was partially covered by a piece of paper, but the numbers they could see did not match the license plate attached to the vehicle. It appeared that the vehicle had been cold-plated and possibly stolen.
Through further investigation, officers located a room at the motel connected to the vehicle. Officers door-knocked the motel room and made contact with a female and a male, later identified as 30-year-old Jesse Tanino of Azusa, inside the room. Tanino consented to a search of his person and officers discovered he was in possession of a shaved vehicle key. Officers were able to gain access to the vehicle in question and remove the paper covering the VIN on the dashboard. A records check of the VIN revealed the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Los Angeles. Officers also located Tanino’s credit card and driver’s permit inside the stolen vehicle along with methamphetamine pipes and two additional shaved vehicle keys. Officers reviewed security footage at the motel and observed the vehicle arrive in the parking lot approximately 15 minutes before they entered the lot. Once the vehicle parked, they observed Tanino exit the driver seat of the vehicle and walk toward the motel room he was contacted in.
Tanino was arrested and booked for vehicle theft, possession of illegal drug paraphernalia and multiple outstanding warrants. Due to Los Angeles County’s emergency “Zero dollar” bail schedule, Tanino was later released from custody with a notice to appear in court at a later date.
Sgt. Hauptmann