{"id":3091,"date":"2026-07-09T21:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T21:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3091"},"modified":"2026-07-09T21:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T21:35:40","slug":"test-drive-tricks-got-thieves-into-luxury-car-dealerships-then-federal-court-in-nc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3091","title":{"rendered":"Test-drive tricks got thieves into luxury car dealerships \u2014 then federal court in NC"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Charlotte man who test drove his way to the top of a luxury car theft ring<\/a> was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Gastonia woman alleges Advance Auto and police falsely implicated her in theft<\/a><\/p>\n

Hosea Fernandez Hampton Jr. led a group that stole more than 100 high-end cars<\/a> \u2014 like Bentley, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Cadillac, Land Rover and Porsche \u2014 across the country, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Hampton in August pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport, possess and sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, court documents show. Four others also pleaded guilty to similar charges and are serving sentences ranging from one year to nine years.<\/p>\n

Hampton and his group often stole car keys during test drives, leaving fake keys in their place, according to U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson\u2019s office. They would then steal the cars, alter VIN numbers and remove GPS tracking, according to court documents. Sometimes, they\u2019d simply break into the dealership and steal the keys.<\/p>\n

The group stole cars from South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Arizona and typically resold them in Charlotte from 2021 to 2023, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.<\/p>\n

Read more CMS spent $1.7M in contracts with Superintendent Crystal Hill\u2019s ex-colleagues<\/a><\/p>\n

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigation busted the multi-state scheme<\/a>, recovering 132 stolen cars valued at $11.5 million.<\/p>\n

Ferguson\u2019s office said Dewanne Lamar White was sentenced to nine years in prison, Kevin Ja\u2019Coryen James Fields was sentenced to eight years, Reginald Eugene Hill was sentenced to five years and Garyka Vaughn Bost was sentenced to one year and one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a sophisticated car-stealing operation by professional criminals across multiple states,\u201d Ferguson said in a statement. \u201cHampton now has years behind bars to contemplate whether a life of crime is worth the loss of his freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more This NC destination ranks among nation\u2019s best places to visit. Why it\u2019s special<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Charlotte man got more than eight years for running a ring that stole 100+ luxury cars nationwide by stealing keys during test drives and altering VINs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nTest-drive tricks got thieves into luxury car dealerships \u2014 then federal court in NC - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3091\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Test-drive tricks got thieves into luxury car dealerships \u2014 then federal court in NC - 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