Tijuana police catch thief — the alleged victim did it

Tijuana's network of downtown police cameras proved to be the downfall for a 21-year-old woman and her male accomplice after she reported she had been robbed at knifepoint outside a downtown bank while trying to deposit money from her employer.

Ana Guadalupe Gutiérrez Montes told police she went to a bank at the corner of Fourth Street and Avenida Constitución on Monday morning, February 18, to deposit 14,730 pesos (about $1178). She claimed a thief wielding a knife stole the money before she entered the bank, according to a press release from Tijuana police.

After Gutiérrez Montes reported the alleged robbery, investigators turned to tapes from a police video camera near the bank to see if they could observe the crime when it occurred in hopes of identifying suspects. Instead they found that, while she did pass by the bank, Gutiérrez Montes was not the victim of a robbery. At no time did she interact with anyone, police said.

When police re-interviewed Gutiérrez Montes, she admitted that she had given the money to a fellow worker, 23-year-old Antonio de Jesús Valdovinos Ruiz. When police detained Valdovinos Ruiz, he gave them two 500-peso bills from his wallet (about $80) and the rest of the money in a paper bag. He said the idea for the theft came to Gutiérrez Montes at the last minute and as an act of mischief, the news release said.

Both Gutiérrez Montes and Valdovinos Ruiz were charged with robbery and are awaiting further action by prosecutors. The name of their employer was not divulged by police.