WA man who led high-speed Corvette chase charged with stealing same car from tow yard

A Washington man who led a high-speed chase in a stolen Corvette was charged in connection with a burglary where the same vehicle was stolen again from a Pierce County towing company weeks later.

Duop Tiet Pidor, 21, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with second-degree burglary, motor vehicle theft, and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, according to court documents obtained by KOMO News.

High-speed chase, PIT maneuver lead to first arrest

On Jan. 4, a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper witnessed a yellow 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, lacking a license plate, traveling eastbound on SR 410 near milepost 9 in Pierce County. The driver accelerated after the trooper turned on the emergency lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop.

The trooper noted that the Corvette sped through traffic, crossed double yellow lines, and drove into oncoming traffic in the southbound lanes while attempting to evade law enforcement.

The pursuit came to an end after a PIT maneuver was conducted near Valley Avenue E. and westbound SR 410. The Corvette was forced onto an embankment and became stuck, according to court records obtained by KOMO News.

Pidor was arrested and ultimately booked into the Pierce County Jail. WSP troopers noted Pidor had told investigators he bought the Corvette in Oregon, and the car was previously rented out to other people.

WSP impounded the Corvette, and it was taken to Hometown Towing and Recovery in South Prairie. On Jan. 30, deputies responded to the towing facility after employees noticed the Corvette was stolen from the secured lot overnight.

Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and said a white or light-colored Tesla dropped off a suspect who then ran toward the tow yard. The suspect drove away in the Corvette at approximately 2:46 a.m. Deputies found that the locks securing the gate had been cut, and there were tire tracks leading away from the property.

Cellphone data, surveillance footage point investigators back to Pidor

Detectives eventually linked Pidor to the burglary with cellphone location data after a search warrant was served on T-Mobile, according to court documents obtained by KOMO News. The records showed that Pidor’s phone was in the area of the towing business on at least nine different occasions between Jan. 15 and Jan. 30. Some of the visits were late at night or early in the morning, where investigators described it as “surveillance and scouting activity.”

The same cellphone data included Pidor’s device being near the towing business shortly before the burglary, and it was later found near a location in Seattle where the stolen Corvette was recovered by the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators also noted that employees of the towing business had reported that Pidor and his family members contacted the company multiple times after the vehicle was impounded and had visited the tow yard to retrieve personal belongings from the vehicle.

In May, prosecutors filed the burglary and motor vehicle theft charges, several months after the initial attempting-to-elude case was filed in January, court records show, according to KOMO News.

Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.