A Texas financing company’s attempts to recover two vehicles hit a fairly significant obstacle when both vehicles wound up across the border. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says tracking devices installed in the vehicles had been removed before the vehicles were later taken into Mexico.
Deputies began investigating on September 18 after Ibarra Financial Services reported problems recovering two vehicles it had separately financed. The company contacted the sheriff’s office after making multiple unsuccessful attempts to get the vehicles back.
Police identified the people who financed the vehicles as 35-year-old Luis Fernando Jaquez and 34-year-old Briana Christine Cardenas. Deputies say tracking devices installed in the vehicles had been removed, although the sheriff’s office’s release does not specify who physically removed them.
Police also determined that both vehicles were later taken into Mexico, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities subsequently obtained arrest warrants for Jaquez and Cardenas in connection with the investigation.
Deputies Find Both Suspects Hours After Receiving Report
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Deputies located Jaquez and Cardenas at approximately 8:27 p.m. on September 18 in the 13800 block of Paseo de Loma. Both were taken into custody without incident.
Jaquez was charged with hindering secured creditors involving property valued at $30,000 or more but less than $150,000. The sheriff’s office initially said he was booked into the El Paso County Jail Detention Facility with bond set at $15,000.
Cardenas was charged with hindering secured creditors involving property valued at $2,500 or more but less than $30,000. Her bond was initially listed at $10,000 following her booking into the same facility.
Jail Records Show Both Have Since Been Released
El Paso County jail records provide additional information about what happened after the pair were taken into custody. Both were booked into the Downtown Jail on September 19, with the records listing June 26, 2026, as the offense date associated with their respective warrants.
Cardenas’ jail record shows she was released on September 19 after a $10,000 personal recognizance bond was posted. Her jail entry lists the same hindering secured creditors charge involving between $2,500 and $30,000.
Jaquez remained there until September 20, according to his jail record, which shows a $15,000 surety bond was posted. Jail records can change as cases proceed, but the available entries show both defendants had been released by September 20.
Another Texas Vehicle Deal Left a Buyer With a $25,000 Problem
Vehicle financing was also at the center of another recent Guessing Headlights story, although the person making payments in that case was the one who ended up with a nasty surprise. A Houston-area man said he put $7,000 down on a $25,000 Chevrolet Camaro and drove it for four months before discovering the vehicle had been reported stolen.
The problem surfaced when the buyer attempted to trade the Camaro at another dealership and learned its identity didn’t match what it appeared to be. The dealership that sold it said it had purchased the vehicle through a Houston Police Department auction and was unaware the Camaro had been stolen.
That case involves a very different set of circumstances from the El Paso County arrests, but both demonstrate how complicated a vehicle’s ownership can become once financing and questions about its whereabouts or identity enter the picture. In Jaquez and Cardenas’ cases, police are instead focused on vehicles a financial company was trying unsuccessfully to recover before authorities say they were taken into Mexico.