Man Allegedly Tries Selling Stolen Car on Facebook, Gets Caught in the Act When Cops Try to Buy It
I will confess to not being an expert in car robberies. If I were, I probably wouldn’t confess it anyway. But I know enough about how the world works that I have a bit of a pro tip if you plan to pilfer a car and want to 1) profit from the crime and 2) not get arrested:
Don’t sell the car in a public venue — particularly, especially on Facebook.
And if the car has identifying stickers on it, for Pete’s sake, take them off if you do.
You’d think these nuggets of common sense would be in the mental toolbox of even the densest of car thieves.
However, at least according to Memphis, Tennessee, police, you’d be wrong.
On Wednesday, WHBQ-TV reported that 28-year-old Stevon Gordon had been arrested after listing a car that had been carjacked for sale on the social media site, according to court records.
The records showed the carjacking happened on Jan. 17.
According to police, two unknown men pointed guns at the driver of a Nissan Versa outside of a Memphis store. The driver was forced out, and the men fled in the vehicle.
It’s unclear what happened between last week and this week, but a chain of events — as well as the apparent stupidity and neglect of those who allegedly had custody of the Versa — led law enforcement to the vehicle.
Quoth WHBQ: “That car had distinct stickers on the front hood and rear door below the window and a week later officers came across a Facebook post offering the same exact car for sale, court records show.”
The car was being sold by Gordon, so police officers reached out to him in an attempt to purchase it on Tuesday, according to WREG-TV.
“MPD said Gordon agreed to meet them to sell the car and Gordon was pulled over for a traffic stop on his way to sell the stolen car,” WHBQ reported.
WREG reported police “were able to verify the car was stolen.”
Gordon was hit with a charge of theft of property between $2,500 and $10,000.
He was released on his own recognizance — as are so many others in these days of high crime and bail reform.
It’s unknown who carjacked the vehicle at gunpoint. Gordon’s charge would seem to reflect that police currently don’t have proof it was him.
Let’s assume he was selling the car but wasn’t involved in stealing it. Wouldn’t you at least ask why you were being tasked with selling it? Ask to see the title to make sure the person had the legal right to sell it? Why it couldn’t be listed under that person’s own Facebook profile?
I’m just spitballing here, because there isn’t some mischievous Car Genie who magically comes and gives you a vehicle, but the catch is that it has the VIN and identifying stickers of an identical car that was jacked in your neighborhood just a few days ago.
I know we’ve gotten to the point where high crime rates and being “very online” have both become accepted as the norm, but selling a stolen car with identifying stickers visible on Facebook is a hilariously new low.
Unless there’s some massive case of mistaken identity at play here, Stephon Gordon has some ’splainin’ to do, to quote Ricky Ricardo.
If only he’d kept the whole thing off social media in the first place.
Come to think of it, that’s good advice for us all.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
