Buckeye police have taken two brothers into custody for a string of organized retail thefts, striking Auto Zone stores in the area multiple times over the course of a week. These incidents, which occurred between December 29, 2025, and January 2, 2026, involved thefts from stores located on Watson Rd and Indian School Rd, as reported by the Buckeye Police Department. Surveillance footage captured images of a suspect entering the stores to steal tools and then leaving in a distinctive black Volvo SUV, without a license plate present at the time.
The Buckeye police’s Impact Team utilized the Real Time Information Center to keep an eye on a vehicle seen around the Auto Zone stores at the time of the thefts. The vehicle, which was the aforementioned black Volvo SUV, now sported a license plate that, when entered into a database, was flagged as part of the ongoing investigation. On January 3rd, a license plate reader within the city issued an alert, leading officers to perform a traffic stop on the suspects' car. According to the details of the bust, the two men apprehended were brothers: 32-year-old Mark Perez, who purportedly carried out the physical act of theft, and 28-year-old Alan Perez, who is alleged to have been the getaway driver.
This coordinated law enforcement effort resulted in both Mark and Alan Perez facing charges of theft, and in an unexpected twist, drug charges were added to their rap sheet. The success of this police operation underlines the effectiveness of technology in modern law enforcement, particularly when tracking and apprehending individuals involved in organized crime.
While the specifics of the drug charges were not detailed in the initial announcement, they add a layer of complexity to the case against the Perez brothers. Information regarding their legal representation or their response to the charges has not been disclosed at this time; nonetheless, their arrest marks a significant clampdown on retail crime by Buckeye police. The effort to put an end to these thefts witnessed coordination between technological surveillance and timely human intervention, proving once more that crime in this digital age often leaves a traceable electronic footprint.
