A U.S. couple suspected of stealing a vehicle at the Cancun airport and leading police on a high-speed chase for nearly an hour could be released since car theft is not considered a serious crime in the state of Quintana Roo.
This week, Derek Andrew Vitas and Kristy Shaw of Grafton, Ohio, reportedly stole a late model SUV from the entrance to the Cancun international airport. Public records revealed that Vitas owned at one time a Halloween haunted house company and appears to still be involved in similar businesses. Vitas is also listed as an owner of a construction company in Brooklyn, Ohio. Employment history for Shaw was not readily available.
Breitbart Texas obtained an exclusive interview with the owners of the vehicle who were at the airport to drop off friends. The victims revealed they were unloading the luggage from their vehicle when Vitas and Shaw climbed in and sped away without closing the doors. The couple drove past barriers and security.
According to local news outlets, the couple evaded two police checkpoints as they drove from Cancun toward Playa del Carmen. After the second checkpoint, federal, local, and state authorities were involved in the chase. Police fired at the vehicle to stop and ultimately were forced to use a PIT maneuver to arrest them. At the time of the arrest, authorities reportedly found doses of personal use narcotics and both Vitas and Shaw were under the influence.
The victims in the case relied on their vehicle for work and have been put in a financial bind as they face a lengthy insurance claim process.
Breitbart Texas learned the couple could be released as soon as Friday under questionable claims that car theft is not a serious crime in the state. Breitbart Texas reached out to the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office for comment. Officials responded that the case file was still in the process of being put together and later in the day Vitas and Shaw will be arraigned before a “control judge.”
Mexico has a long history of judges and prosecutors dismissing charges or making cases go away in exchange for bribes. Currently, Mexico is listed as one of the worst countries in various studies which measure impunity and corruption worldwide, such as the Global Impunity Index.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.