Four individuals involved in a large-scale auto theft operation were sentenced to prison, as announced by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The group was responsible for stealing over 100 luxury vehicles from dealerships across the United States, with an estimated value of millions of dollars.
The sentencing was revealed in collaboration with Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina; Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina; and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
The defendants admitted guilt to charges related to conspiracy to transport, possess, and sell stolen vehicles across state lines. Their sentences are as follows:
- Dewanne Lamar White, aged 44 from Sumter, South Carolina, received a sentence of 108 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release. White also admitted to possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
- Kevin Ja’Coryen James Fields, aged 28 from Charlotte, was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release after pleading guilty to interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
- Reginald Eugene Hill, aged 25 from Charlotte, received a sentence of 60 months imprisonment followed by two years supervised release.
- Garyka Vaughn Bost, aged 26 from Denver, North Carolina was sentenced to 12 months and one day imprisonment followed by two years supervised release.
Court documents reveal that between 2021 and 2023 the defendants orchestrated a scheme targeting high-end vehicles such as Bentley, BMW, Cadillac among others from dealerships across several states including North Carolina and Arizona. They employed tactics such as swapping key fobs during fake customer visits or executing "smash and grab" operations at dealerships.
Once acquired off-lot using these methods or others like breaking into lockboxes for keys—the group would disguise their activities through measures like removing GPS systems or altering Vehicle Identification Numbers on stolen cars before reselling them below market value back in Charlotte.
U.S Attorney King extended gratitude towards HSI FBI CMPD alongside York County South Carolina Sheriff’s Office plus other state/local law enforcement agencies assisting this investigation prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorneys William Bozin Daniel Ryan based out Charlotte office