Cops swipe cars back to frustrate thief

LAS VEGAS - A tenacious car thief might have earned an ''A'' for effort, but he flunked common sense.

Detectives from the repeat offender unit were watching Juliano Rosado, 29, when he was spotted in a new car with a temporary license tag. A quick call to the dealer revealed the car had been stolen.

When Rosado parked the stolen car, detectives obtained a duplicate key and took the car back, said Sgt. Clint Robison of the repeat offenders unit.

When Rosado came out of his home, he looked in vain for the stolen car. When he couldn't find it, police say he went to another car dealership and stole a pickup truck.

Detectives watched him as he parked the truck and went into a pawnshop. Before he could come out, detectives used a spare key to the truck and took it back.

''When he came out he started looking up the street, waiting to see the truck. You could see his shoulders slump when he saw it wasn't there,'' Detective Mike King said.

What happened next was a little unexpected.

''He was forced to use public transportation at that point. He took the bus right up to Fletcher Jones Toyota,'' Robison said.

Police say Rosado stole a new Toyota 4-Runner sport utility vehicle from the dealership. Police suspect their case is fairly strong as they not only watched the vehicle being stolen, but also videotaped the theft.

Police took him into custody but he was released after he agreed to cooperate with detectives on another ongoing case and promised not to steal any more cars, Lt. Jim Moses said Wednesday.

Rosado failed to cooperate on the other case and on Tuesday police arrested him for stealing a new Plymouth Voyager from another auto dealership.

Rosado was booked into the Clark County jail Tuesday afternoon on four counts of grand theft auto.

''He was so brazen,'' Robison said. ''Even after all the times we took the stolen cars back, he'd be in another one.''