Eight stolen Chevrolet Corvettes were recovered this week, according to Bowling Green Police. A somewhat disorganized auto theft ring targeted the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly plant where Corvettes have been built since 1981, making off with a grip of GM’s greatest machines. According to WBKO News 13, the individuals were attempting to move the vehicles out of town when one of the thieves was apprehended. 21-year-old Deantae Walker of Westland, Mich. was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property, fleeing police, and resisting arrest.
According to reports from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, a concerned citizen called police because a new maroon Corvette was in the parking lot of an apartment complex and the woman immediately suspected the car as being stolen. The giveaway was that the ‘Vette was still covered in all of the decals and coverings that the factory installs to protect the cars in transit. If you’re going to do a crime, try not to make it super obvious, you know?
At the point the car had been spotted, GM hadn’t even reported the vehicles as stolen yet, and didn’t even know. WCSO got in touch with BGPD, and BGPD reached out to GM. It was then that Chevrolet conducted an inventory check and discovered a handful of missing Corvettes. A plant manager was called down to the scene to identify that the cars were indeed stolen from inventory.
Where’d they go?
WBKO also reports that two of the Corvettes were recovered from the parking lot of the Laurel Ridge Apartments, while a third was parked at a home across the street. The thieves had allegedly called a local transport truck driver to transport a “2017 Corvette” to Michigan from Bowling Green, and when he arrived to pick up the car there were three 2025 Corvettes waiting for him. The truck driver called police dispatch, which was when Mr. Walker was apprehended in possession of the three cars. Another suspect fled the scene in a Jeep with Ohio tags. In the end all eight cars were recovered and returned to General Motors with minor damage from the theft.
“If I would have made it back to Michigan, I would have been paid big,” Walker said in a statement while being processed, allegedly after having been read his Miranda rights. Clearly this guy isn’t the brains of the operation.
Reports from the scene indicate an estimated value for all eight vehicles of $1.2 million, meaning each of these Corvettes had an average sticker price of $150,000. Even decked out with every option, it’s impossible to get a Stingray up to $150,000 from its starting price of $68,300. It’s pretty easy to do with an E-Ray or Z06, however. Reports don’t indicate which Corvette models were stolen, but Chevrolet told Corvette Blogger that none of the cars were pre-production ZR1s as had been initially reported.
GM told the local news that it was “taking appropriate measures to address” the thefts. The investigation is ongoing.
