Several kitties from hell were included…
A Chicago man has been caught after police detectives say he and some unnamed accomplices stole almost $900,000 in cars from a single dealership in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The investigation determined 13 vehicles were stolen July 11 and August 23 last year. Among the cars boosted from the Honda dealership were multiple Hellcats.
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Police were able to collect forensic evidence for both heists. That led them to Joshua Smith, a 23 year-old from Chicago. An arrest warrant was issued for him on March 7, including 16 counts of theft ranging from Class 1 and Class 2 felonies, as ell as one count of burglary, a Class 2 felony. Finding Smith was easy since he was already in DuPage County Jail for a separate incident.
According to a court filing, on July 11 a total of three vehicles were stolen from the dealership. They were a 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. We wish we could say we’re shocked. The total value of the Mopars was $229,000.
Not surprisingly, authorities say the suspects reprogrammed the ignitions on July 11, a technique we’ve seen used often, especially with Stellantis products.
On August 23, the court document indicates the thieves returned with the means to steal more, taking 10 cars valued at $631,000. Those were a 2018 BMW M5, 2016 BMW X6, 2018 BMW M550, 2018 BMW 540, 2018 Audi S6, 2019 Audi Q8, 2015 Audi A8, 2016 Audi RS7, 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE and 2011 Cadillac CTS-V. These guys certainly knew which vehicles would give them a good return, and none of them were Hondas.
For the August 23 heist, the thieves broke into the dealership and the key lockbox. That makes sense, especially since Audis are notoriously difficult to steal.
It sounds like detectives are actively looking to find the other suspects involved in stealing cars on July 11 and August 23.
Source: Lake & McHenry County Scanner
Photo credit: Facebook
