How a Portland volunteer group helped arrest an accused car theft ring leader

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- An organized car theft ring running from Seattle to Portland to Sacramento just hit a big wall.

The Multnomah County Auto Theft task force just arrested Aric Wade Adams of Central Point, Ore., who they suspect is the ring leader.

The work of volunteer group PDX Stolen Cars helped to get Adams arrested and charged with at least 16 counts of armed robbery, theft and possession of stolen vehicles.

Investigators say the car theft ring allegedly stole newer model American muscle cars - Corvettes, Chevy Camaros, Dodge Chargers and Challengers - selling them though online platforms.

After finding some of the cars - like a $70,000 Corvette stolen from a Troutdale dealership parked on a Portland street - this prompted PDX Stolen Cars' leader Titan Crawford to step in.

"In March we recovered a very expensive Corvette and a very expensive Hellcat," Crawford recalled. "And through our detective work on social media, we were able to quickly identify the perpetrator and the suspect that was performing these thefts. Realizing that the thefts spanned from Sacramento to Seattle we reached out to the Multnomah County Auto Theft task force and gave them the information we had discovered."

Some of the cars were even allegedly stolen outside the owners homes and at gunpoint.

According to court documents the suspect bragged on social media about stealing cars and offering them for sale.

Law officials say they expect to arrest more people involved in the suspected series of thefts.
Although they were targeting certain types of higher end cars, Crawford offered some words of advice on how to deter car thieves in general.

"Prolific car thieves getting held accountable that are stealing 50 cars a month," he said. "But it's also people being proactive in the security of their vehicles. If people are just taking one simple security step, that's better than no security steps. If people take multiple security steps, that's even better. No car is theft-proof."