Yahoo Autos Mopar Muscle Car Theft Ring Busted In California
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It seems like every time we turn around lately another car theft ring is getting busted. This time one in California which was stealing Mopar muscle cars like Hellcats and Scat Packs is facing 26 charges for three individuals. The real key to putting the kibosh on theft rings is making consequences stick.
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From what the California Attorney General’s Office filed in court, it sounds like these three men, aged 19 to 23 years, made gathering evidence against them extra easy. They apparently posted their crimes online, basically documenting what Dodge Chargers and Challengers they stole and how.
The trio also sold stolen muscle cars on the internet. If you’ve ever seen listings where the price for a vehicle is suspiciously low, plus the seller says no title and other funny stuff, it’s pretty obvious what’s going on.
From what authorities were able to gather, the men stole 13 vehicles from eight counties in California starting in July 2023 and ending in March 2024. We wouldn’t be surprised if they stole a lot more than those, but prosecutors only felt confident in the evidence for those thefts.
Still, the claimed total value of those rides is about $600,000 which is plenty. Now the social media addicted car thieves are facing charges that include conspiracy, vehicle theft, possession of stolen vehicle, vandalism, receipt of stolen property, and operating a chop shop, according to a press release from Attorney General Bonta’s office.
According to a felony complaint filed by the Attorney General’s Office, Jesse Venegas, Nathan C. Olivas, and Christopher Anderson are accused of stealing cars both from dealerships as well as private individuals. Some of the thefts they recorded at least in part on video, as well as videos of them driving the stolen muscle cars, posting them to social media accounts for online attention.
They even messaged each other about stealing Dodges, then taking them to street takeover events. Somehow, we’re just not shocked.
We can’t believe how many criminals, especially younger ones, seem to think they can put whatever they want on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, etc. like cops and other people who care about the law will never see anything.
Image via Lisa Pommerville/Facebook
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