One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Thief Admits to Cops 'I just stole this car,' Says He Confessed Because He Was Running Out of Gas
Photo by Gunnar Pippel via Shutterstock
27-year-old Christian Borro thought he was driving on borrowed time in a car he'd stolen. He pulled alongside a Los Angeles Police Department squad car on Monday morning and declared to the officers: "I just stole this car."As one might expect, the cops were intrigued, and pulled Borro over to look into his claim. Borro told the cops he'd come to be behind the wheel of the 2000 Honda Civic after helping himself to the vehicle parked at a San Diego apartment complex the night before, even explaining how he did the deed (he "used a screwdriver to bypass the ignition," say the LAPD).
The Civic's owner had no idea her car had been stolen, so no report had been issued to alert the authorities.
The LAPD add that when the investigating officers asked Borro why he sought them out to confess, Borro told them: "Because I'm almost out of gas."
Yeah, um...that's certainly one way to handle an empty tank in a stolen car. Lt. Paul Vernon agrees that there's a certain amount of logic missing from some crimes and their perpetrators: "If crooks really thought their crimes through, they wouldn’t do them in the first place."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
