8 Corvettes stolen from Kentucky car plant; thief says he intended to bring them to Michigan to get "paid big"
Thieves took eight Corvettes from the lot of a Kentucky automobile plant where the legendary muscle car is built, but officers recovered the vehicles and made an arrest, police said.
The cars were taken from the GM Bowling Green Assembly plant in southern Kentucky, the home of the Chevrolet Corvette since the early 1980s. The eight cars were valued at $1.2 million, police said.
Police said the thieves cut a fence at the plant to get the cars out. A man later arrested and charged with the theft of three cars said while being booked into jail that if he "would have made it back to Michigan, I would have been paid big," according to a police report.
The first car was located Saturday when a woman at an apartment complex in Bowling Green called police to say she saw a man park a new Corvette with stickers on it at the complex and then walk away.
Police contacted the manager of the assembly plant, who checked the inventory and reported that eight Corvettes were missing, according to a Bowling Green Police report.
Police later located four more Corvettes at different locations.
The last three were found after officers received a call from a transporter driver who said he was asked to come to a location to pick up an older model Corvette to transport to Michigan. When the driver arrived, he saw three new 2025 Corvettes and told police the two men trying to move them were in a hurry. He also noticed damage on the bottom of the cars and called the transaction "weird," according to the citation.
When police arrived, they detained a 21-year-old man after a chase and charged him with receiving stolen property, fleeing arrest and engaging with organized crime. Another man fled in a Jeep with Ohio tags, police said.
Bowling Green Police Public Information Officer Ronnie Ward said Tuesday that no other arrests have been made.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Car that led police, troopers on chase ends up in ‘chop shop': Report
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Police and state troopers found a little more than they bargained for Monday night after a chase led them to other suspicious vehicles. Just before 11 p.m. Monday, the Youngstown Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol had officers out on patrol in the area of Boston and South Avenue when reports state a black BMW sped past them. Authorities attempted a traffic stop, but the BMW sped off at around 80 mph on South Avenue before turning onto Midlothian Avenue. Officers called off the road pursuit due to the unsafe conditions, but the OSHP continued to follow the BMW with its aviation unit. Reports state aviation tracked the car speeding around 112 mph on Shirley Road to Wilson Avenue, to Federal Street, before it turned onto Andrews Avenue and pulled into a business garage in the 1100 block of Andrews. Reports state the BMW nearly hit another vehicle in the area of South and Hilton Avenue, ran red lights and passed other cars during its attempt to flee. Officers surrounded the business and called for all occupants to come out, where they detained two men. Aviation units relayed to officers that one of the men, Derrian Thomas, was the driver of the BMW, and the other man was the passenger. Police arrested Thomas on a charge of failure to comply. When speaking to the other man, reports state he told police that he was the owner of the business at 1104 Andrews Avenue. OSHP troopers on the scene were then informed of a 'chop shop' located near Andrews Avenue in connection with other investigations, according to reports. Police say the owner gave them permission to enter his business to retrieve the BMW involved in the chase. When they went into the building, reports state officers smelled an 'overwhelming' odor of marijuana and observed a 'large quantity' of marijuana inside the truck of a Dodge Charger. Police also observed marijuana in a Chevrolet Sonic, which reports state was registered to the man. Also inside the garage was a Jeep 'riddled with bullet holes,' in which police found two firearms, reports state. When questioned about the large amount of marijuana inside his shop, the owner reportedly told police that someone had dropped off both the Jeep and Dodge for body work, but claimed he could not provide their name and 'had essentially no idea who they were,' according to reports. He also claimed to know nothing about the firearms or who they belonged to. Due to the marijuana and firearms, police had the Jeep and Dodge towed, as well as the BMW involved in the chase. Reports state the Jeep and Dodge were both registered to one person; however, court records do not reflect any charges against that individual at this time. Thomas is set to appear in Youngstown Municipal Court on the fleeing charge Wednesday afternoon. Court records do not show any charges against the owner of the business at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cranston trial day three — Prison inmate recalls alleged confession
It's day three of testimony in the trial of Shawn Cranston, the man accused of murdering Rebekah Byler, a pregnant Amish woman, in Sparta Township last year. Wednesday morning, jurors heard from a fellow prison inmate who testified Cranston confessed to killing Byler. According to that inmate, Cranston was surprised to find Byler in the home, and they 'surprised each other.' Cranston told the inmate, 'The lady started screaming, he spun her around and started choking her, she didn't pass out so he slit her throat. He said she didn't die quick enough, so he shot her.' Jurors also heard from a state police latent print examiner, who testified a pair of shoes taken from Cranston's house four days after Byler's murder, are a 'possible source' of the shoe impressions taken from the murder scene and previous burglaries in the area, along with two of the tires found on Cranston's Jeep. Cranston is facing charges of criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass. Jennifer Mobilia is in court and will have full coverage of Wednesday's testimony during the evening news. Related Stories: Day two of testimony underway for Shawn Cranston murder trial Trial begins for man accused of murdering pregnant Amish woman Trial for man accused of killing pregnant Amish woman pushed to 2025 2024 Amish murder case transferred to Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office New information takes center stage in Rebekah Byler murder trial Daughter of arrested suspect reacts to pregnant Amish woman murder case List of seized items released in pregnant Amish woman homicide case Murdered Amish woman suffered injuries to head, neck: investigators Community remains in shock following Amish woman's death, Corry man's arrest Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man gets 6 years in scam that cost Tampa Bay women close to $1 million
TAMPA — A man who acted as a 'money mule' in a nationwide scheme that involved government impersonators and bilked a pair of Tampa Bay-area women of close to $1 million will spend six years in federal prison, a judge ordered Tuesday. U.S. District Judge William Jung called the crime 'evil and wicked,' noting that the scheme ripped off older adults who were led to believe they'd be arrested if they didn't turn over their life savings. 'It's pretty much the same thing as going in their house and sticking a gun in their temple,' Jung said. 'These people were terrified.' The prison sentence was greater than the three years suggested by federal guidelines, though significantly less than what the judge said he'd planned to impose. Jung was apparently persuaded by arguments from Assistant Public Defender Adam Allen, who said Patel's role in the scheme was limited to that of a courier for what he knew was 'bad money.' It was a job he came to at a low point in his life, his lawyer said. 'He was really depressed and not doing well,' Allen told the judge. 'And those are the types of people that get roped into becoming mules.' Patel, 33, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in the scheme. Federal prosecutors identified 11 victims in seven states. Their collective loss was estimated at close to $1.8 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Peresie read a letter from one man who lost $49,000. He wrote that he had to sell his home and struggled to pay expenses. The man 'was devastated by the fraud,' Peresie said. The crime came to light in December 2023 after a Ruskin woman told investigators she'd handed over several large sums of cash and gold at the direction of someone who'd contacted her by phone. The woman, identified in court records by the initials 'E.L.,' believed the person was an officer of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She gave money to clear up what she was told was an arrest warrant charging her with money laundering. She described several transactions in which a car pulled up to her house before she was instructed to place cash packages in the back seat. She never spoke to the driver. Over several months and multiple transactions, the woman emptied her bank accounts, a life insurance policy and a Roth IRA. By the time the scheme came to the attention of law enforcement, she'd lost $170,000. A Pasco County woman told authorities a similar story. That woman, identified in court records as 'D.L.,' described a series of transactions for cash and gold bars with a person she believed was a Treasury agent. Her total loss was pegged at $732,000. The final exchange occurred outside a Ruskin Circle K, under the watch of Hillsborough deputies and U.S. Secret Service agents. 'E.L.' had been told to deliver $27,000 in gold coins and bars. Agents instead gave her a package of soap, which she placed in the back of a red Jeep. They followed the driver all the way to the Wiregrass mall in Wesley Chapel. In the mall parking lot, they watched as Patel got out and opened the package. He was then arrested. Patel tried to cooperate with investigators, his attorney said. But he could provide only scarce information about the people who employed him. No one else involved in the scheme has been brought to justice. The perpetrators were based in call centers in India. 'I need my sentence to send a message to wherever these people are,' Judge Jung said. 'You're hiding in some boiler room, but some of your minions are getting a serious, big sentence.' Patel's involvement in the scheme lasted only about 60 days, his attorney said. He had no role in planning or organizing the scam. He has otherwise lived a law-abiding life. He holds a college degree in mechanical engineering from a school in his native India. He immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 2018. They lived in New Jersey. Patel pursued a master's degree at Marshall University in West Virginia, but his limited English led him to drop out, according to a sentencing memo. His language difficulties made it difficult for him to hold a job. He'd worked for short periods as a 7-Eleven cashier, a Bank of America software engineer and a soil inspector for an engineering company. He married an American woman, but separated after she became physically abusive, his lawyer said. His life in the U.S. was characterized as 'one failure after another,' the memo stated. He became a 'money mule' out of desperation. In October 2023, he was offered a job that involved picking up and delivering packages. He was told little else, but came to learn the packages held money and gold. He received directions on his phone through WhatsApp about where to go to pick up the packages. He never met the person who gave the directions. Once he arrived, someone would come out and place the package in the back of his car. He'd then obtain further instructions on where to deliver it. For every package, Patel was reimbursed the cost of his airfare and car rentals. Although he assisted in the laundering of more than $1.5 million, Patel received a meager $6,000 for his work. He knew he was involved in an illegal scheme, court records state. But he knew nothing about its scope and structure. Patel sat in court Tuesday wearing an orange jail uniform. He listened to the words of an interpreter who translated the proceedings from Gujarati, his native language. His father, Bharat Patel, urged the judge to impose a lesser sentence. His crime was due to the bad influence of a friend, he said. As he spoke, his son placed his hands over his face. In his own words to the court, Pranav Patel said he wished he could apologize to the victims and vowed never to make the same mistake. 'I came to the USA for a better life,' he said, speaking through the interpreter. 'And I feel very sorry and bad ... that the best years of my life I spent this way.' He said he never knew that what he did was making people miserable. But their misery ran deeper than the theft, the judge said. Patel stole their peace of mind that they could never fall victim to such a fraud. 'You were a vital part of the scheme,' Jung said, 'which was just about as cold and nasty of a scheme as I've ever seen." Times staff writer Alexa Coultoff contributed to this report.
