Men who stole $250,000 Ford GT from Rancho Santa Fe home plead guilty

By City News Service

Two men pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to charges stemming from the theft of a $250,000 Ford GT from a Rancho Santa Fe home and two Porsches from other residences last year.

George William Moore, 48, and Gabriel Castano, 30, will each be sentenced to five years in state prison at a March 11 hearing.

The defendants pleaded guilty — on the day of their scheduled preliminary hearing — to burglary of an inhabited dwelling, owning or operating a chop shop and receiving stolen property.

Deputy District Attorney John Philpott said the 2005 Ford GT disappeared during a three-week period last June and July.

Philpott said chopped-up parts of the Ford GT, as well as one of the intact Porsches, were found in the back area of a business in North County.

About two-and-a-half weeks later, almost all of the rest of the Ford GT was found at a storage facility about a block away from the other business.

Information was developed that led investigators to a second stolen Porsche, Philpott said.

Philpott said the theft of such a unique and expensive car as the Ford GT — only 4,038 were manufactured in 2005 and 2006 — is rare.

He said law enforcement continues to investigate the defendants’ possible involvement in other crimes that could lead to additional charges in the future.