The 21-year-old Michigan man arrested last Saturday in Bowling Green on suspicion of stealing eight Corvettes worth $1.2 million from the Bowling Green Assembly Plant received another criminal charge as authorities continue their investigation.
Deantae Cortez Walker of Westland, Michigan made his second appearance in Warren District Court on Tuesday where he was arraigned on a charge of engaging in organized crime. During his first court appearance on Monday, he was charged with three counts of receiving stolen property valued at $10,000 or more, and one count each of first-degree criminal mischief, third-degree fleeing or evading police, and resisting arrest.
Walker has plead not guilty to all charges and will be back in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing during which the judge will determine if there is probable cause, which will then send the case to a grand jury.
Walker and another man were seen on surveillance video dropping off new Corvettes with the window stickers still attached at an apartment complex located eight miles from the Corvette Assembly Plant, with additional Corvette eventually located in the area. The Corvette Plant’s quality manager Jenni Druen arrived on the scene in a Corvette ZR1 and determined the located cars were stolen from the assembly plant. After a review of the plant’s inventory, they knew then that a total of eight new Corvettes were missing.
As this was happening on Saturday morning, police received a call from a transport driver that was originally hired to haul two 2017 Corvettes to Michigan. When the driver arrived at a Lowe’s location to pick up the car, instead he found Deantae Walker and another man with three new 2025 Corvettes with the window stickers still attached. The driver told police that the two men were rushing him to complete the loading and the driver noticed damage to the bottom of the cars. He said the situation just felt wrong, prompting him to call 911.
As police arrived at Lowes, the two men bolted with a white suspect getting away in a Jeep with Ohio license plates. Police gave chase and captured Deantae Walker at the scene. The police report says a brief struggled ensued, however bystanders came to the aid of the Bowling Green police officer and Walker was handcuffed and placed in police custody.
A report from ClickOnDetroit.com says that police think that up to nine people were involved in the attempted theft, and that the eight Corvettes were all stolen at the same time by being driven through a hole cut in a fence.
Walker is reported to have said during his booking that “If I would have made it back to Michigan, I would have been paid big.”
Let’s hope he’s paid with a stay in the big house for a very long time!
Source:
Bowling Green Daily News
Related:
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[STOLEN] Police Arrest Michigan Man in Theft of Eight Corvettes Including a New ZR1 from the Assembly Plant
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Hi Keith,
I don’t recall reading how these cars were stolen. Do you
think the fobs were left in the cars and ready to roll?
The clue is “People who annoy you”
I’d like to solve the puzzle, Pat!
Obviously they were hired by someone, probably one of the gangs in the country.
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