Last Updated on January 11, 2025
According to a release from the Tustin Police Department (TPD) in Tustin, CA, a band of thieves lifted a serious haul of military equipment from under the nose of police and U.S. Army.
“On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, between 8pm and 1130pm unknown suspects entered a storage warehouse at the Army Reserve Center in Tustin,” according to TPD. “Multiple storage lockers were discovered with locks removed and missing gear. An attempt was made to cut a lock to uniform storage, however it was unsuccessful. A fence was cut to gain access to a military vehicle parking lot where three Humvees were stolen. The suspects left the area at an unknown time.”
Here is a full list of the stolen items:
- One armored Humvee Model: M1151A1, ADMIN: HHC-06
- Two cloth-door Humvee Model: M1097s, ADMIN: HQ-61 and HQ-81
- Eight machine gun vehicle mounts
- Seven free-standing machine gun tripods
- Medical equipment
- 40 pairs of binoculars
- 18 bayonets
According to the Army, the thieves did steal firearms or ammunition.
Anyone who sees the Humvees cruising the streets is asked to call TPD.
Tustin is located in Orange County, CA, just southeast of Los Angeles where deadly uncontained wildfires have killed at least 10 people, and cost untold millions in property damage in some of the wealthiest parts of the city.
This is the second instance of a Humvee being stolen from the National Guard in California in less than a year.
On July 3 of last year, a Humvee was stolen from the National Guard Armory in Santa Rosa, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
That vehicle was recovered from a transient man named Anthony Stabile by CHP in November after a high speed chase. Stabile had fired a weapon at an unoccupied utility truck, sparking the chase.
Upon his arrest, Stabile was booked into jail on two outstanding misdemeanor warrants, driving on a suspended license, driving without an interlock device, and the following felonies: loaded firearm in public, shooting at an unoccupied vehicle, firing a gun from a vehicle, vandalism, unlawful possession of a gun, a loaded unregistered gun, vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and evading.
Just last week, the Army issued a $10,000 reward for the recovery of scores of Humvee doors that have been stolen from Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, in North Carolina since October.