Postal worker holdup leads to muscle car theft ring arrests
Also: Four Charged in Crime Spree that Stole Vehicles, U.S. Mail and Robbed Postal Service Carriers (U.S. Attorney's Office - Northern District of Ohio)
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Source: Associated Press
Postal worker holdup leads to muscle car theft ring arrests
By COREY WILLIAMS
October 16, 2022
DETROIT (AP) — Thieves are using cloned key fobs to steal Dodge muscle cars and other high-powered vehicles directly from dealerships and even automakers in Michigan, then selling them for tens of thousands of dollars less than their value, according to authorities and court records.
For one Ohio-based theft ring, it all came crashing down after a January holdup of a U.S. postal worker led authorities to connect several men to brazen car thefts in the Detroit area, long home to the country’s biggest automakers, including Dodge, which is now owned by international conglomerate Stellantis.
Investigators then discovered that new Chargers, Challengers, Durangos and Ram pickups worth $50,000 to $100,000 were turning up in Ohio, Indianapolis and East Cost shipping ports after being sold on the street for $3,500 to $15,000, according to a criminal complaint.
Thieves in the Detroit area are primarily going after Dodge vehicles with Hellcat engines, including Chargers and Challengers — “the fast ones,” Sgt. Jerry Hanna with the Macomb Auto Theft Squad said.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/dodge-muscle-cars-theft-ring-chargers-challengers-500bf0e53de0aecac1c14716c4416937
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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office - Northern District of Ohio
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 24, 2022
Four Charged in Crime Spree that Stole Vehicles, U.S. Mail and Robbed Postal Service Carriers
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment charging Jaylen Harris, 19, of Beachwood, Ohio, Lavelle Jones, 18, of Warrenville Heights, Ohio, Devin Rice, 20, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Hakim Benjamin, 20, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, with organizing and engaging in a conspiracy to steal and sell high-end vehicles, rob Postal Service carriers and steal from the U.S. mail.
Defendants Harris, Jones, Rice and Benjamin are each charged with conspiracy to commit sale or receipt of stolen vehicles and sale or receipt of stolen vehicles. Defendants Rice, Jones and Harris are charged with additional counts of possession of stolen mail. Defendant Rice is also charged with aiding and abetting the robbery of a postal carrier and stealing keys adopted by the Post Office. Defendant Harris is charged with an additional count of illegal possession of a machine gun.
According to court documents, from December 2021 to February 2022, the defendants are accused of stealing high-end vehicles from car dealerships in Michigan and transporting the vehicles to be sold in the Northern District of Ohio. The indictment states that the defendants targeted specific vehicles to steal and purchase, including the Dodge Durango, Dodge Ram TRX, Dodge Hellcat, Audi 8 and others.
In addition to the car theft conspiracy, Defendants Rice, Jones and Harris are charged with organizing and engaging in a conspiracy to rob Postal Service carriers, steal Postal Service mail keys and illegally obtain mail from Postal Service collection boxes.
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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/four-charged-crime-spree-stole-vehicles-us-mail-and-robbed-postal-service-carriers-0
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