Police say that circumstances of the attempted theft enabled them to catch up with the suspects
December 13, 2024 at 19:16
- Police arrested a 19-year-old woman that reportedly took part in an attempted car theft.
- Authorities recovered a Ram 1500 TRX, a Chevrolet Corvette, and a Dodge Challenger Hellcat.
- Officers also have video of the suspects as they left a dealership with several stolen cars.
Let’s start with a universal truth: if you’re going to attempt grand theft auto, maybe don’t pick the lot with motion cameras, a security system that actually works, and a dealership owner who lives nearby. Unfortunately for one group of alleged car thieves in Michigan, that’s exactly what they did and it ended about as well as you’d expect.
Police reported that a fortunate combination of timing and circumstances allowed them to recover several stolen vehicles and apprehend one suspect early Tuesday morning. The drama began just before 2 a.m., when the owner of Comodo Motors in Caledonia Township called authorities. Officers responded quickly, confronting the group of alleged thieves at the dealership.
The owner of Comodo Motors is Jordan Baker, and according to Pix11, he woke up to alarms going off triggered by motion cameras at the lot. His security company also called him, and that’s when he alerted the police.
Read: North Carolina Dealer Forced To Close After Thieves Steal $200k Worth Of Cars
“I immediately call 911. Luckily, I live close so I could get here or maybe follow, somehow stop what they’re here for,” Baker recalled. “Imagine being across the street and watching five people break into your house and steal your most prized possessions,” said Baker. “Thank goodness that the men and women in blue were there for us when we needed them. That’s their job. They jumped in and got in harm’s way.”
When officers arrived, they found a group of people in five cars, including a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye, a Chevrolet Corvette, a Ram 1500 TRX, a Jeep, and another Dodge Challenger. Police gave chase and, according to Kent County Undersheriff Bryan Muir, the crew was coordinated.
“The way they were driving, the way they were communicating, the way they were able to leapfrog ahead of each other to slow our deputies down by blocking [shows] that they had done this before,” explained Muir. Speeds allegedly exceeded triple digits, and police lost sight of some of the cars. Before they all got away, officers used stopsticks to disable the Challenger Hellcat.
They arrested a 19-year-old woman but didn’t release any of her details. In addition, they later found the Corvette and the Ram abandoned.
“All the factors have to align for us to continue this pursuit”, said Muir. “It happened to be very early in the morning, very little vehicle traffic in the roadways which allowed for our deputies to continue the pursuit for an extended period of time, so we radioed ahead to those law enforcement partners of ours to the east and they were able to assist.”
The dealership’s owner mentioned that repairs to the doors and gates will take weeks and cost thousands. On top of that, the vehicles involved in the heist are now stuck with a permanent scar: their VIN numbers will forever show up as “recovered stolen,” which isn’t exactly a selling point for future buyers.