Taking Liberty: Car thief blunders big-time with trade-in
Today's tale involving the questionable decision-making skills of criminals comes from Norwalk, CT. It seems that one Jazrahel King had visited the Wholesalers of America used car lot on Main Street in the hopes of test driving some vehicles. The staff at the dealership nixed the drives, however, after discovering that Mr. King had some issues with his credit.
According to sales manager Diego Coleman, this particular setback did not exactly deter King, who was seen by staffers walking around the lot at the same time Coleman was prepping a recently-sold 2003 Jeep Liberty for customer pick-up. The Jeep, which had the keys in it, must have been left unattended for a moment, because the next thing anyone knew was that both the SUV and Jazrahel King were history.
Read on to learn how not to flip your boost.
[Source: AP via the Connecticut Post]
Fast forward a month to this past Saturday. Much to the surprise of everyone, Mr. King, who is clearly in no danger of achieving "Bond Villain" status on the criminal mastermind scale, returned to the Wholesalers of America dealership with the same Jeep looking to trade it in. Cops were called, an arrest was made, and now you have something to chuckle about this afternoon.
We'd be interested to know how this guy managed to keep the car for a whole month, though, considering the dealer had enough info on him to run a credit check. No one thought to drive by his house after both he and the Jeep disappeared at the same time?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Prototype 2:13PM (4/25/2007)
You'll never know if you can get away with it unless you try. ;)
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Bryan 2:19PM (4/25/2007)
Thats funny. Reminds me of last year when I went to a Dodge dealership with a friend who was looking for a new car. It was Sunday and they were closed (so we could have some peace). We went to look at a new Caliber, black, fully loaded, nice. Doors unlocked and keys in ignition. Can we say..someone lost their job Monday morning? lol. And no, I didnt take the car I am an honest and good person! =)
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scopkins 2:26PM (4/25/2007)
#2. I had the same keys-in-unlocked-car story, but mine was a year old '04 or '05 Corvette. I've never been so tempted to take a joy ride ever. I have to thank God for the strength not to drive that car off the lot because I still have no idea how I didn't.
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Sean Cahill 2:35PM (4/25/2007)
Definitely one for the Darwin Awards....
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David 2:35PM (4/25/2007)
This story reminds (way too much) of a guy in my city who called a pizza delivery service, then robbed the delivery guy as he delivered the pizza. Thinking he's hit on the coolest scheme ever, he called another service and robbed the second guy. Then the cops showed up.
No word on whether or not the guy ever figured out ow the cops knew where he lived.
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Viv 2:40PM (4/25/2007)
#3, That is one of the most difficult situations in which any guy can be placed in. Thank god i wasn't in ur place because i don't know what i would have done.
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Mike 2:51PM (4/25/2007)
#3, if I were in your position, I would have parked the Vette somewhere that people would take notice and taken the keys with me. I would have returned on Monday and asked for the general manager, handed the GM the keys and told him the story.
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wez 3:09PM (4/25/2007)
Reminds me of ..........
a mans puts a ski mask on and robs a convenience store didnt really get away with it as the staff knew
him. He was a regular customer and the staff knew where he lived.
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djSyndrome 3:26PM (4/25/2007)
"Definitely one for the Darwin Awards.... "
It would be if the subject in this story actually died. As is, he may still yet have a chance to procreate.
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cluebyfour 3:47PM (4/25/2007)
As I've recently discovered, the addresses listed on credit reports rarely match the current address of the credit report subject. One of my own reports still says I live in an apartment I moved out of . . . in 1999.
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chuck goolsbee 4:00PM (4/25/2007)
A fascinating compare & contrast of the relative intelligence of both types of criminals... car dealers and car thieves. Sigh.
--chuck
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Lauryn2000 4:18PM (4/25/2007)
One word: IDIOT
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chris_toph 4:35PM (4/25/2007)
Asking to do a credit check for a test drive sounds highly illegal.....
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John S 5:09PM (4/25/2007)
There is nothing illegal about doing a credit check before allowing someone to test drive. What the hell could be illegal about it? The dealership "owns" those cars and its up to them how to run their business... if you don't like it go somewhere else, grow up.
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Dan 5:34PM (4/25/2007)
#14 is absolutely correct. I work at a dealership, and while it is not common to run credit before test driving, you do occasionally get "shady individuals" that you just don't feel safe going on a test drive with unless you have some kind of background on the guy... or if you don't want to waste your time test driving 3 or 4 cars to find out the guy couldn't finance a bicycle.
Also with this story though, it never says they ran his credit and it came up bad. The salesman could have just done some good qualifying and they found out all they needed just by asking him questions. The guy probably just got out of a repo, just filed bankruptcy, etc...
Either way, he had some balls to come back to the same place. I don't get it though, why trade in an '03 Liberty that you got with a five finger discount?? You came there in the first place to get a car... you got one! Go on with life!
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MoeD 5:34PM (4/25/2007)
#8:
Your "Reminds me of..." reminds me of that very scene in "White Men Can't Jump".
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chris_toph 6:15PM (4/25/2007)
If a dealer required a credit report to drive a car, I would turn around and walk out the door. It amounts to discrimination based on appearance, so either require it for everyone or require it for no one.
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PeteL 7:00PM (4/25/2007)
I was shopping one night after the dealers were closed and found not one but two keys sitting in the drivers door. An Audi A6 Avant and a Ford Explorer. I dropped the keys in the mail slot with a note. Fire your lot person.
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W L Simpson 7:24PM (4/25/2007)
this sort of thing usually caused by parents who are related by blood
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verdegrrl 1:43AM (4/26/2007)
17.
People who work at a dealer meet dozens of folks a day. 6 to 12 hours a day, 5 to 7 days a week. You learn very quickly to develop an accurate BS meter if you are to be successful. When you feel that somebody is witholding something, you may want to put your mind at ease before entrusting yourself and the vehicle to a complete and total stranger. There are enough tales about kidnapped or worse fates happening to salepeople in carjackings.
If could be that the customer is just a pathological lier who feels justified in sending dealership people on mental/vehicular goosechases, it could be the customer is mentally unbalanced, it could be the customer is giving off a psycho-killer vibe, or their demeanor and dress would suggest they don't have 2 nickels to rub together and are just killing time (yes, salespeople do judge you by what you wear to some degree - based on thousands of interactions, they know that flip-flops, a raggy t-shirt, and 7/11 big gulp mean very long odds of making a sale). The salesperson has to balance annoying or insulting the customer by the request, with their own safety and protecting the property of the company they work for.
A lot people are pretty brazen about asking for test drives in cars they have no intention or even the capability of buying. A salesperson wants to sell a car, so their BS meter has to be ringing pretty loudly before running a check - or the car is in such high demand that they don't want to waste time with tire kickers when somebody ready to buy has just walked on the lot. Besides, if it's something special, why put miles on a car that will belong to somebody else if you have absolutely no intention of buying in the first place?
So while running a credit check prior to a test drive is not standard procedure, it has a valid purpose in some situations. I'm sure you see the logic in that now.
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