MENTOR, Ohio – Mentor Police have arrested two suspects in one of the biggest auto theft rings in Northeast Ohio.
Curtis L. Wilder, 42, of Bedford Heights and John M. Jones, 41, of Cleveland, were arrested and charged for stealing a vehicle at a Home Depot on Diamond Center Dr.
“It’s one of the bigger one of the car ring or stolen vehicle ring cases that I’ve seen in a long time,” said Detective Lt. Tom Powers of the Mentor Police Department.
The suspects are accused of stealing or attempted to steal more than 200 vehicles in the past year alone, Powers said. The theft is believed to have spread throughout Lake, Geauga, Summit and Cuyahoga counties.
Brian Dudich, was the latest victim before the arrest.
He shopped at the hardware store for 15 minutes. Then, police informed him that his Ford F-250 truck was stolen—and the suspects were caught.
“Being in the store so briefly, and then realizing yeah, your truck was stolen and then, well, we got it already,” Dudich said. “Obviously it was a lot involved that they’ve been tracking these guys, and I’m glad my vehicle is back.”
Dudich said he was surprised by how quick the suspects were and the lack of damage they left behind.
“The door lock was damaged and the cylinder on the column was damaged,” he said. “They were very neat about what they did. Obviously professionals. “
More so, Dudich was impressed by how the police caught the suspects: by tracking a GPS in the suspects’ vehicle—not his own.
“Thank God for technology on the GPS,” Dudich said.
Mentor Police, the FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol and several other local police departments are working on the case, which still remains under investigation.
Powers said if Wilder and Jones are convicted of the multiple car thefts in the case, they could face up to 10 years in prison.