A Bessemer man has pleaded guilty to a scheme involving the theft and interstate shipment of at least $1.6 million in stolen cars.
Dexter Sherrod Pearce, 34, entered his guilty plea this week in the Northern District of Alabama, according to a joint statement Thursday by U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard.
As part of the plea, Pearce admitted that from May 2020 until August 2022, he and others stole and transported from one state to another at least 24 cars valued at over $1.6 million.
The operation was based out of the Jefferson County area and involved thefts and transports from and to Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina.
According to Pearce in his plea, he and others stole cars from automobile dealerships and individuals in other states and transported them to Alabama to sell. The conspirators also stole cars in Alabama and transported them to other states to sell.
To conceal that the cars were stolen, and then be able to sell them, Pearce and the group altered the vehicle identification numbers, obtained false bills of sale and tag applications, and used the false documents to obtain bogus car titles and registrations.
The crimes with which Pearce was charged federally, according to court records, include:
- A 2015 Dodge Challenger SXT stolen from a dealership in Oxford, AL. and taken to Coweta County, Ga.
- A 2018 BMW stolen out of Homewood and taken to Cummings County, Ga.
- A 2018 Dodge Challenger Demon stolen out of Carrollton, Ga. and delivered to Vestavia Hills.
- Two 2021 Dodge Challenger Scat Packs taken from a Carrollton, Ga., dealership and delivered to Alabama.
- A 2021 Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500 taken from Winchester, Tenn., and taken to Alabama.
- A 2021 Ford Mustang and a 2020 Dodge Challenger taken from Rome, Ga., and delivered to Birmingham.
- A 2022 Lincoln Aviator and a 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor. It’s unclear where those vehicles were stolen.
- A 2021 Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500, a 2020 Jeep Cherokee Track Hawk and a 2017 Ford F-450 Lariat stolen from a Jasper, Ga., dealership and delivered to Birmingham.
- A 2021 Ford F-350 Super Duty King Ranch and a 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 taken from a dealership in Meridian, Miss., and delivered to Birmingham.
- A Ford F-15- Rocky Ridge and a Ford F-250 taken from Columbus, Miss., and delivered to Bessemer.
- A 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, a 2021 Dodge Charger SRT and a 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 taken from Seneca, S.C., and delivered to Birmingham.
- A stolen 2020 Cadillac XT6 Premium Luxury with an altered VIN was in Pearce’s possession in March 2022.
- A 2021 Ford Mustang taken from a Shelbyville, Tenn., dealership and delivered to Bessemer.
According to the plea agreement, Pearce has agreed to pay restitution to the victims of his crimes and forfeit the $227,615 he made during the conspiracy.
“The theft and interstate transportation of stolen vehicles has been a persistent problem in many parts of this country, and we are grateful for the work of HSI in unraveling this scheme,” Escalona said.
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. attorneys George Martin and Catherine Crosby are prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for interstate transportation of stolen cars is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“Organized criminal activity, such as this, is extremely costly to victims and the economy as a whole,” said Pickard, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Every day, HSI and our law enforcement partners, are working to disrupt these criminal organizations and bring those who look to profit from these stolen goods to justice.”
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