$54K worth of stolen Hot Wheels merchandise recovered in Colton after train burglary

Police recovered $54,000 worth of Hot Wheels merchandise, some of it in the back of a suspect’s pickup truck, early Thursday, Oct. 22 after a reported cargo theft of railroad containers.

Authorities got the call about a possible theft of BNSF freight containers around 3 a.m. Colton police then observed people loading merchandise into a pickup truck near West Maple Street and South La Cadena Drive, police Sgt. Mike Sandoval said.

Officers pulled over a black Chevy Silverado suspected to be involved as it drove away from the area. They detained the driver and found Hot Wheels merchandise in the back of the pickup trick, Sandoval said. They later found more Hot Wheels boxes in the area; in total, they recovered 350 boxes of the toy car merchandise.

Miguel Vega Acosta, 20, who was driving the Chevy, was arrested on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property and grand theft. His bail was set at $60,000, Sandoval said. Vega Acosta was released on bail, according to county jail records.

Detectives were conducting an investigation to see if they can identify other suspects thought to be involved in the theft, Sandoval said.

The Hot Wheels theft is the latest in a string of cargo thefts targeting BNSF freight cars across the Inland Empire this year. On Sept. 17, thieves set a BNSF train on fire as a ploy to burglarize freight cars as it passed through Riverside. Another train was hit in rural Amboy in San Bernardino County on Sept. 4, when thieves snatched $50,000 worth of Ariat brand boots and Dewalt construction equipment. In August, San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies recovered $150,000 worth of New Balance shoes following reports of a train cargo theft underway.

“It’s essential that the entire criminal justice system, including policymakers, district attorneys and judges, focus on this crime trend and help to ensure these criminals are held responsible and prosecuted,” Lena Kent, a BNSF spokeswoman, said in September.