Suspected car thieves caught with master keys

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

AMHERST — Last month, police here arrested two Springfield men, one of whom was found to be in possession of Chevrolet and Acura “master keys,” capable of opening almost any vehicle that matched the desired model.

Although the introduction of modern car keys with imbedded computer chips has resulted in a significant drop in the number cases involving car thieves using hand-made master keys, Det. Lt. Ronald Young said it is a continuing problem nonetheless.

Young said making a master key is a time-consuming process, which includes a lot of trial and error for would-be burglars.

“What they do is they get a key that is somewhat common. For example, most of the keys that fit with, say, GM or Ford vehicles, the manufacturers only cut a certain number of keys. So if you drive a Chevy with a relatively standard key, if you go around and try it in enough Chevys, it will eventually work on another car,” Young said. “It is a painstaking process. They file the keys down until they get them so they will work in just about any vehicle. It’s still not going to work in every one, but they can get it pretty close.”

Two of the alleged thieves, Gabriel Y. Correa, 18, and Juan Enriquez, 29, both of Springfield, pleaded innocent in Eastern Hampshire District Court to charges of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and using a motor vehicle without authority. Correa also pleaded innocent to two charges of possessing a motor vehicle master key, and Enriquez pleaded innocent to additional charges of possessing a class E substance (suboxone), and carrying a dangerous weapon (knife).

On Jan. 4, at 1:27 a.m., police reportedly stopped Correa and Enriquez on foot as they were leaving Alpine Commons, a Belchertown Road apartment complex that had been the target of numerous break-ins over the college winter break. After giving police false names, police officer Nicholas J. Chandler followed two sets of footprints the pair left in the snow to a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, which had been abandoned after being crashed into a sign post, according to police.

After running the plates, police found the crashed vehicle was registered to Correa’s mother’s fiancee, and officers Hunter J. Guiles and Scott E. Gallagher waited outside a nearby house that the two were seen walking into, according to police. When the duo attempted to leave the home several hours later, police initiated a traffic stop and found that both Correa and Enriquez had active warrants for their arrest.

During booking, the soles of the men’s shoes were found to match the pattern left in the snow leading away from the crashed vehicle, and Correa was in possession of two modified keys, one suited to fit most Acura models and the other for Chevrolets, according to court documents.

Sgt. Andrew Trushaw, of the Northampton Police Deparment, said he hasn’t noticed a recent increase in master-key type thefts, but remembers a time during the 90’s when thieves would walk around the city with loops of car keys, trying as many as it took to get inside.

“They would get in and just try, try, try until something worked,” Trushaw said.

The use of so-called “master keys,” Young said, was much more common in decades past, before the introduction of touch-start vehicles and more technologically advanced keys. Although he said his department hasn’t seen a sudden resurgence in the method, local car owners should be wary of their existence.

“It’s an older problem, but it is still a problem,” Young said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.