An investigator with Enterprise Car Rental contacted the Graham County Sheriff’s Office on Friday and told them he had tracked a stolen rental car to an area in Graham County. The investigator said that the car was rented at the Tucson airport and was supposed to be returned on January 2, 2026. Further, the man who rented the car had reportedly called the company and told them he had not rented it and it was fraud.
The last tracking on the car showed it heading northbound on Armory Road. A deputy went to the residence made contact with a woman. When the deputy asked for the suspect by name, the woman said she did not know anybody by that name and knew nothing about a car rental.
The deputy drove around the area and found a white BMW that matched the description of the stolen rental car. The license plate confirmed it was the car they were looking for. The deputy parked where he could watch the residence and called the investigator to report his findings. The investigator sent a photo of the suspect, which the deputy recognized from prior contact.
While watching the residence the deputy saw the suspect come out, then go back inside. A Sergeant Detective arrived to assist the deputy and the two of them went to the residence. When they arrived, they made contact with another man who told them the suspect they were looking for was out of state. The deputy replied that he had just seen the suspect and told them man to go get him.
The suspect came out to talk to the officers and told them that he was supposed to return the car on January 2, 2026, but was able to get the rental company to extend the date to January 8. When the deputy pointed out that it was January 9th, the man said that he didn’t have gas money to drive to Tucson.
When asked about reporting the car rental as fraud the man said that he had used his grandpa’s credit card to rent the car and his grandpa had called reporting it as fraud. The deputies took possession of the vehicle and locked in their evidence yard. The suspect was not arrested, but may be facing charges from the Tucson Airport Authority.
