Alleged thieves nearly ram SLO cops with U-Haul

February 8, 2017

Two suspected thieves nearly rammed a San Luis Obispo police car while fleeing in a U-Haul truck last week. Authorities eventually tracked down the men, both of whom are from Santa Maria and one of whom is suspected of stealing about 10 or more motorcycles.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on Feb. 1, an alert citizen called the police department to report that a passenger in a U-Haul box truck stepped out onto the street and broke the windows of a vehicle parked in the 2900 block of Augusta. The man then removed items from the parked car, returned to the U-Haul and drove away with the other suspect, according to SLOPD.

Officers discovered the U-Hall as it was was traveling on Ella Street and then turned on their lights in attempt to detain the suspects. The U-Haul driver then accelerated and drove directly toward the officer’s driver’s door. The officer narrowly managed to avoid being hit by the truck which crashed into a car that was parked adjacent to the patrol vehicle.

The suspects kept fleeing, and they abandoned the U-Haul a short distance away.

Officers found the truck, secured it and discovered numerous stolen items inside, including a motorcycle.

Investigators used documents and fingerprints in the U-Haul to identify the suspects as Antonio Tanner-Galvan Jr., 24 and Alberto Macias Jr., 22. Police say Tanner-Galvan is a suspect in about 10 stolen vehicle cases that San Luis Obispo police are investigating. Each of those cases involve stolen motorcycles and several include the theft of trailers.

On Feb. 2, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives assisted SLOPD in locating Tanner-Galvin and Macias while they were driving in Santa Maria. Detectives arrested the suspects and charged them with assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, 2nd degree burglary, felon in possession of ammunition, evading an officer in a reckless manner, hit and run and vandalism resulting in more than $400 of damage. Macias also received a charge of possession of burglary tools.

San Luis Obispo officers booked Tanner-Galvin and Macias into the SLO County Jail, where both of them remain, as of Wednesday morning. Macias’ bail is set at $70,000, and Tanner-Galvin’s bail is set at $75,000, according to the SLO County Sheriff’s Office website.

Investigators are currently trying to determine if the two suspects were involved in a series of window-smash burglaries that were reported to have occurred along the Los Osos Valley Road corridor in recent weeks. Detectives request that anyone who has information about either of the suspects call the police department at 805-781-7312.