The Eyewitness National Crime Alert for August 7, 2017
These incidents were reported across the country from 7.31.17 to 8.6.17
Talahassee, FL — Reported 7.31.17
Car Buyer Has Every Document Except an Authentic Identity
In late July, a prospective customer asked to buy a $42,000 car at a Talahassee dealership. All his documents seemed to be in order: a driver’s license, a credit application, his insurance card. When dealership staff ran a credit report, however, they discovered that the man’s name was flagged as an identity theft victim.
The police subsequently arrested the identity thief. He now faces charges of criminal use of identification, grand theft over $20,000, forgery, and possession of a counterfeit driver’s license. (Original article)
Morristown, NY — Reported 8.1.17
Scrap Thief Arrested After Stealing $25,000+ In Metal
On 6.20.17, a man tried to scrap nine manhole covers and three sewer rings, valued at $2,650. Suspicious of the haul, a scrap yard employee contacted the local police, where investigators discovered that the man had also scrapped a “unique lead-coated seven-strand copper wire” stolen from a local residence, worth $1,290.
In total, the scrap metal thief scrapped more than $25,000 of stolen copper and other metal before he was caught. Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at 315–379–2222 (Original article)
El Paso, TX — Reported 8.2.17
Lot Key Boxes Prove No Match for Car Thief
In February 2017, a car thief illegally sold a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro with a lien against it. He went off the grid for months until 6.11.17, when police say he entered a 2017 blue Ford Mustang on a dealership lot, removed the key from a (supposedly) secure lock box, and stole the vehicle from the lot. A month later, the car thief did the same thing with a 2017 black Ford Mustang GT Coupe Supercharged vehicle.
Police arrested the thief on 7.31.17, and all vehicles were returned to their rightful owners. The thief awaits his hearing in the El Paso County Detention Facility on $140,000 bonds. (Original article)
El Monte, CA — Reported 8.2.17
Police Search for Stolen Car, Find $1.8 Million in Cannabis Wax
Thieves stole a Lexus LX 460 from a Longo car dealership on Monday (7.31.17), but it had a tracking device that broadcast its location to police. After obtaining a warrant to allow them to search a residential property, police discovered not only the stolen car, but also an illegal lab producing cannabis oil (aka cannabis wax), with $1.8 million in cannabis products “in various stages of production.” (Apparently, a pound of cannabis wax can be worth more than $30,000 a pound.)
The five men at the scene were arrested and booked, though each posted $75,000 bail to be released pending litigation. (Original article)
Texarkana, TX — Reported 8.2.17
Have You Seen This Tire Thief?
In June 2017, a woman called a local car dealership, claiming to live in Dallas. She requested to pay via credit card for $20,000 worth of tires for pick up by her children, who lived locally. The transaction went through and a woman (pictured) picked up the tires in a 2003 black GMC Yukon.
Unfortunately, a week later, the dealership was told that the credit card had been stolen before the transaction took place. If you either know the woman who picked up the tires or who placed the fraudulent order, please call the Texarkana, Texas Police at 903–798–3116 (Original article)
Wallingford, CT — Reported 8.3.17
Identity Thief Arrested, But Only Half of Car Theft Scheme
A man used a stolen identity on his credit application at a Connecticut auto dealership through a fake driver’s license, falsely securing over $80,000 in loans to “purchase” a 2014 Lexus ES350 ($38,741) and a 2017 Nissan Maxima ($49,893). After dealership employees learned that the driver’s license was fake, they recovered both vehicles at a Meriden bar.
Police then got a tip from another local dealership, who was using the same fake identification to buy an additional two cars. After he was arrested, the car thief told police that he’d been given the fake id by another individual. Supposedly, he was to drive the cars out of state to a preset delivery location, where he’d be paid $10,000 per car. (Original article)
Chicago, IL — 8.3.17
Dealership Employee Accused of Arson at Workplace
On 7.24.17, federal prosecutors claim that a motorsports dealership employee “poured gasoline in the front office, reception, and warehouse areas” of his workplace, then lit the accelerant with a cigarette. When authorities arrested the employee for the suspected arson, they discovered stolen “vehicle items” missing from the dealership. (Original article)
Roxbury, NJ — 8.3.17
Burglar Alarm Trips Up Would-Be Thieves
Four men from Philadelphia broke into a Ledgewood motorcycle dealership at 2 AM Thursday morning, triggering a burglar alarm. When police responded to the alarm, the four would-be burglars fled.
K-9 units arrived and tracked down the four men through heavy brush. They now remain in Morris County jail, waiting for their court appearances. (Original article)
El Paso, TX — Reported 8.4.17
Intricate “Inheritance” Scheme Unraveled at Dealership After $400,000+ Car Purchase
Police arrested four people with a “large-scale theft operation” that occurred over multiple days “through the use of a fraudulent wire transfer documentation,” according to the Financial Crimes Unit news release. A man entered a local dealership and told the salespeople that he’d inherited $5 million, complete with the documents to prove it. When salespeople tried to verify the story, they contacted his co-conspirators, all whom corroborated the story.
Ultimately, the man left the dealership with a 2012 Chevy Camaro, a 2014 Nissan Armada, a 2015 Ford F-159, a 2016 Acura MDX, a 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, and a 2017 Acura NSX. In all, the stolen vehicles were worth over $400,000.
The dealership recovered all vehicles, and all four conspirators sit in the El Paso County Detention Facility waiting for the end of the investigation. (Original article)
Marshall, MO — Reported 8.4.17
Safe Not Safe at Local Dealership
A dealership employee called the police early Thursday morning (8.3.17) to report a damaged business safe. Police also discovered evidence of a forced entry, along with an undisclosed quantity of stolen cash.
Anybody with information about the theft should contact the Marshall Police Department at 660–886–7411 (Original article)
Brooksville, FL — 8.4.17
Greatest Childhood Pasttime: Stealing Cars?
A 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl broke into a dealership and stole two vehicles — a 2017 white Chevrolet Silverado ($72,000) and a red Chevrolet Silverado ($40,000). The white Silverado was recovered at a bank parking lot with significant damage, having been used to ram through the dealership’s gate. Police found the red Silverado on a side street about a mile away from the dealership.
A tricycle and bicycle were found on the dealership’s car lot, which authorities later discovered belonged to a residential home half a mile from the dealership. When police knocked on the home’s door, the mother of the two siblings told she “knew they had done something illegal based on their demeanor.”
The children — along with two of their friends, 15 and 18 years old — were arrested and current face charges related to this burglary and another at a neighboring RV lot. (Original article)
Originally published at Eyewitness Surveillance.
