Woman in infamous maroon van arrested after stealing pillows from unlocked vehicle Monday evening

On Monday, April 17th, 2023, at 6:09 pm, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported larceny from a vehicle that had just occurred in the parking lot of Target, 3000 Countryside Dr, Turlock, after an uninvolved bystander had seen a woman taking items out of a vehicle.

While officers were responding, they were informed that the suspect was sitting in a maroon 2006 Chrysler Town and Country parked in a handicap stall in front of the business.

When officers arrived on scene, they contacted three subjects in the vehicle, including who was described as the suspect, Destany Binda, 28, of Modesto.

Another officer contacted the victim who stated that her vehicle had been left unlocked and two white Calvin Klein pillows were missing from it. The victim desired prosecution and the bystander who saw the incident was willing to make a citizen’s arrest.

Binda was arrested and released on a citation on the charge of petty theft.

Additionally, the stolen pillows were able to be recovered from Binda’s vehicle and were returned to the victim.

For those of you who keep up with online feeds such as the Ring Neighbors app and have seen the videos involving a maroon van and its occupants stealing things, this is that van. The Turlock Police Department continues trying to build cases, however, it’s extremely hard when they’re usually misdemeanors not committed in anyone’s presence and prosecutors take forever to file cases on those not already in custody.

A few days ago, an officer stopped Binda in the van and wrote her a citation for several vehicle code violations.

The most viewed video involving the van showed a woman encouraging a child who appeared to be about 10 years old to steal from people’s mailboxes on Thursday, March 23rd, in the 300 block of Wiley Ct. It’s unclear at this point if that woman was actually Binda.