Authorities bust muscle car theft ring that operated throughout the West Coast
Aug 11, 2024, 2:15 PM | Updated: Aug 12, 2024, 8:10 am
Brand new Dodge Charger cars are displayed on the sales lot . (Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
Police arrested a suspected leader of a car theft ring that targeted muscle cars up and down the West Coast from Seattle to Sacramento.
The ring targeted modern American muscle cars, specifically newer model Dodge Chargers and Challengers and Chevy Camaros and Corvettes.
First reported by Oregon Live, the car theft ring would pay people a few hundred dollars for information about car locations, called a “drop,” according to Oregon authorities. The thieves would then allegedly use electronic devices to bypass a car’s key fob and drive off.
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The stolen vehicles would then be sold on various social media platforms.
Authorities arrested the ringleader, Aric Wade Adams, in Medford, then returned him to Portland, where he was arraigned Friday. Adams was arraigned in a Portland court on 16 counts, including armed robbery, theft and possession of stolen vehicles.
A volunteer group, PDX Stolen Cars, first brought this case to the attention of local authorities after the group began to notice a number of cars were being stolen from Diplomat Motors’ dealership.
According to the affidavit obtained by Oregon Live, Adams had messages on his phone where he referred to his career as “boosting” cars and made references to shootings that happened during car thefts.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges listed in the indictment.
It is also suspected that Adams traded stolen cars for guns through social media. Most of the stolen cars were valued between $60,000 and $70,000.
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Authorities are still in the process of identifying potential accomplices.
The Auto Theft Task Force of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office has been collaborating with law enforcement in Oregon, California and Washington to investigate the case in addition to various county sheriff’s offices.
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
