FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
"It's just shocking to see someone else's stuff in your car," Trina Sickler said looking through her maroon Chevy Equinox. "You can just tell it's disrespected. Somebody stole your car and doesn't care about it and trashes it everywhere."
Sickler stood just feet away from the thugs who, police say, stole her car.
"I'm almost embarrassed for them. Maybe being a teacher, I just feel like, shame on you. I hope you feel bad," she said.
It's a motherly instinct for the new mom, who thought she heard something strange around 4 a.m. Monday.
"I heard a vehicle kind of go back and forth and just assumed it was the newspaper delivery guy. I didn't know it was my own vehicle being driven away," Sickler said.
And when she walked outside a couple hours later, instead of her car in the driveway, she saw a bike that wasn't hers.
"It was shocking. I was in disbelief. I went back in the house and told my husband, my car is gone," she said.
Trina had completely forgotten that she had Onstar, a vehicle tracking system.
When she remembered, she called them. And police tracked it down to a southeast Fresno neighborhood and that's where they caught the bad guys.
"We think they may have been here to buy drugs or paraphernalia because we found drug paraphernalia in the house," Sergeant Tim Tietjen, Fresno Police Department Auto Theft Team, said.
Fresno police tell KMPH News the guys arrested are not new to stealing cars.
21–year–old Jacob Cooley was recently released from jail through realignment and had a warrant for auto theft.
23–year–old Peter Phouthauone had a $1 million warrant out for his arrest for stealing cars too.
"You hate to think the worst. But unfortunately, this is the worst of the worst right here," Sickler said.
Some of Sickler's stuff was gone when the car was found.
But police did find a replica gun, a hoodie and some gloves inside that were not the Sicklers'.
"They're not just auto thieves. They're violent criminals committing violent acts on a daily basis. A gun of that nature, a normal citizen is going to think that's a gun and give up their property, or a store owner or anybody. They're not going to take that chance," Tietjen said.
"Who knows what they were planning, what violent crimes and weapons I'm sure that they probably had. They could've really hurt somebody later on," Sickler said.
Cooley and Phouthauone are now facing new charges of auto theft and possession of stolen property.
