Super Duty Scandal: Man Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $400K in Ford Trucks
A 28-year-old man in Georgia is accused of being a part of an organized group of thieves who stole Super Duty trucks for their pricy parts.
It’s honestly remarkable that brand-new cars can be stolen at all. With all sorts of security features and immobilizers, you really have to know what you’re doing to steal a new car. This is especially true in the case of higher-priced vehicles. We’re not talking about Kia Souls, here. These are Super Duty Ford pickups with price tags nearing the $100,000 mark. Obviously, we’re not advocating for crime. However, you almost have to admire the amount of planning and effort required to pull this kind of thing off. There must be a word for that! Oh, right, it’s premeditation.
11 Alive, a news station from Atlanta, Georgia, broke this news. According to the article, five Ford Super Duty trucks went missing from Akins Ford in Winder, Georgia, on February 12th, 2024. In total, the estimated value of the stolen trucks is over $400,000. Investigators suspect that the last one was taken from the lot around 7 A.M., which seems pretty dang late. You might be cutting it close on some early-arriving employees at that point. Still, the thieves got away with it. For a while, anyway.
Felonies A Flyin’ (Allegedly)
Naturally, there are consequences for these actions. The article doesn’t specifically highlight how investigators identified the 28-year-old man. However, one has to assume that the dealership had some sort of security cameras in place. After identifying the allegedly truck thief, investigators asked the Atlanta Police Department for help in tracking him down. Thursday, February 15th, 2024, just a few days after committing the crime, Atlanta police arrested him in a traffic stop. From there, a search warrant allowed police to locate more evidence tying him to the crime.
You might wonder what exactly one would do with five stolen Super Duty trucks. Sure, they’re worth a lot of money. However, selling stolen vehicles isn’t really much of an option. There is, however, a reason for their thefts and the process is quite complex.
“These are not your ordinary car thieves. This is an organized group or theft ring with specialized technical knowledge and equipment that target expensive late-model vehicles that are in high demand for the whole vehicles or their parts,” Winder Police Chief Jim Fullington said in a release.
One Stop: Chop Shop
The tail end of that quote is the important bit. The parts on Super Duty trucks are quite valuable. So, there’s a good chance those five stolen trucks are already in a million pieces spread throughout the area. We’re just speculating, here, of course. There’s always the possibility of title washing or quickly exporting the vehicles out of the country, too. No matter the case, though, it’s clear that this individual wasn’t acting alone.
Above all else, it just goes to show that crime doesn’t pay in the end. This particular individual was captured pretty quickly. That may not be the case for all individuals involved. However, in the modern era, there’s a good chance they’ll all eventually get caught.
Photos: Ford
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