Federal prosecutors charged several people after law enforcement busted an alleged international car theft ring operating in America’s capital.
The conspiracy stole at least 20 vehicles from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as well as Pennsylvania, according to a U.S. District Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia press release Officials suspect the operation took more than 100 vehicles from Washington, D.C. and over 30 from Prince George’s County, Maryland. They allegedly shipped vehicles as far afield as Africa for black-market resale.
The crews used a reprogramming tool called an “Autel” to access a vehicle’s onboard system and produce a new key fob, letting them drive off within 60 seconds without smashing windows or obtaining original keys, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro alleged. “This is the new world of car theft,” she told reporters. (RELATED: DC Toddler Found After Mother Shot Dead In Alley, Cops Say)
Targets allegedly ranged from Chevy Corvettes and Camaros to Honda Civics across D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania. Thieves stashed stolen cars at staging areas in D.C.’s Navy Yard and a Marriott parking garage in Maryland, Pirro said. They allegedly replaced the plates and moved the vehicles to ports in Savannah, Georgia, and Baltimore, Maryland.
The cars were packed into shipping containers falsely marked as furniture and sent overseas, according to the district attorney. “And then the shipping containers are sent across the ocean to Africa, where they net top dollar on the black market,” Pirro said.
LIVE: Mayor Bowser Joins U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro to Announce the Takedown of an International Car Theft Ring https://t.co/KvW5EkEHoR
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) April 22, 2026
Prosecutors charged Jacob Hernandez, 29, of Los Angeles; Dustin Wetzel, 23, of Woodbridge, Virginia; James Young, 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland; Khobe David, 24, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and Chance Clark, 25, of Waldorf, Maryland, according to the USAO for the District of Columbia. One suspect remains a fugitive. The counts include conspiracy to posses, sell or transport a stolen vehicle, interstate transport of stolen vehicles and first-degree theft, Pirro said.
Interim MPD Chief Jeffery Carroll joined Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Pirro to announce the arrests, which stemmed from a probe launched by MPD detectives, the department said on social media. Prosecutors connected over 20 stolen vehicles to the indictment, with a combined worth approaching $1 million, WJLA reported.
“We know that when any type of crime happens, even a property crime, it affects people’s peace and enjoyment of their homes, their neighborhoods and their sense of public safety,” Bowser said.