PORTLAND, Ore. — A Central Point man suspected of being the ringleader of a multi-state car theft ring was arrested Thursday and arraigned Friday on 16 charges relating to the operation, according to a news release from the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.
Aric Wade Adams, 21, was indicted on one count of first-degree robbery with a firearm, two counts of second-degree robbery, one count of unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm, one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle with a firearm, three counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, four counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and four counts of first-degree theft.
The news release described the arrest as the product of a months-long investigation by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and DA's Auto Theft Task Force dubbed "Operation Get the Hellcat Outta Here." Law enforcement from multiple agencies served a search warrant at Adams' home in Central Point on Thursday and arrested him. He was taken back to Multnomah County and booked in the county jail.
The ring operated by paying people "a few hundred dollars" to scout out target cars for theft, typically American muscle cars like Dodge Challengers and Chevy Camaros, according to the DA's office. Member of the ring, often armed with guns, would then go to the locations and steal the cars, using electronic devices to bypass the need for keys.
The theft ring's territory ranged from Seattle to Sacramento, according to an affidavit filed by the DA's office on Friday. The thieves tended to steal the cars two at a time. The cars often ended up listed for sale on social media platforms at a fraction of their original prices, which could be as high as $70,000, the DA's office said.
Portland-area thefts
The DA's office said all 16 charges stem from four incidents in the Portland metro area in late March and early April in which Adams was identified as a suspect, mainly through photos and messages on social media. The affidavit states that investigators got a search warrant for Adams' Instagram account in May, which turned up most of the relevant social media evidence.
The first incident involved a Chevy Corvette worth $70,000, which was stolen from a dealership and then reported in downtown Portland the following day, March 24, on a Facebook group called PDX Stolen Cars. The car was eventually recovered with damage to its alignment and a window.
On Friday afternoon, KGW spoke with Titan Crawford, the founder of the group, who located that vehicle.
"(Adams) would ask people that followed him on social media to give him locations of these performance cars, at which point they would go in the cover of darkness, in the middle of the night to steal the cars," he explained. "They had the ability to make so they were stealing the cars in 30 to 60 seconds. "These cars are expensive to begin with, anywhere from $60-$100,000. The engines alone in those cars are worth $30-$40,000 apiece. There’s a lot of value in that."
Evidence connecting Adams to the theft included messages to another social media user offering to sell the car for $6,000, the DA's office said, as well as two videos of the car, one of which shows a placard with the dealership's name in the license plate frame.
The second incident happened two days later when Portland police received a report of a stolen 2016 Chevy Camaro just after midnight on March 26. The daughter of the Camaro's owner told police she was at home and heard the family's dogs barking, looked outside and saw multiple people breaking into the car, along with what appeared to be a getaway car nearby.
Her father told police he heard his daughter screaming and he had a "brief verbal exchange" with the thieves, but then someone in the getaway car pointed a green laser at his chest. Believing he was going to be shot, he disengaged, the DA's office said.
The affidavit states that investigators found an Instagram post from Adams apparently referencing the incident, in which he wrote, "All I know is he had the beam of my Glock on his face and he froze up when he came outside."
Other evidence connecting Adams to the theft included social media photos of the car and messages offering to sell it for $4,500, the DA's office said. The Camaro was found "dumped and stripped down" about two months later, according to the affidavit.
Later in the morning on March 26, a Portland police officer reported that he had been flagged down by someone who said their 2017 Dodge Charger Scat Pack, worth about $39,000, had been stolen. Social media photos and messages offering to sell the car for $4,500 again linked Adams to the theft, the DA's office said. The car has not yet been recovered.
The final incident was on April 8, when a man told Portland police that his 2015 Dodge Challenger worth $60,000 had been stolen from a hotel parking lot. The car was recovered five days later. The affidavit states that evidence connecting Adams to the theft included Instagram photos, a message offering to sell the car for $2,500, and audio messages in which Adams referred to the car, which had several large Oregon Ducks decals, as the "HellQuack."
The affidavit document also mentions that the investigation found audio messages in which "the main suspect describes his career as 'boosting cars,'" as well as pictures of the suspect with "large amounts of cash." There was also a photo that appeared to show Adams in a Portland hotel room around the time of the incidents, as well as several audio messages in which he references "shootings related to incidents where he and his crew are trying to actively steal cars."
The case is still under investigation, according to the news release, and police believe there may be additional victims or witnesses who have not yet come forward. Anyone with information about the thefts or Aric Adams is asked to contact MCSO Detective Dylan Lerch at Dylan.Lerch@mcso.us.