Federal prosecutors indict six accused of stealing cars in D.C. region, shipping them to Africa

Federal prosecutors have indicted six accused of stealing cars in the Washington area and Pennsylvania in order to ship them abroad for sale.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said that the car-theft ring was run by Jacob Hernandez, 29, of Los Angeles; Dustin Wetzel, 23, of Woodbridge, Virginia; James Young, 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland; Khobe David, 24, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Chance Clark, 25, of Waldorf, Maryland; and a fugitive whom prosecutors did not name.

Federal prosecutors accused the suspects of stealing at least 20 cars in the Washington area and Pennsylvania starting as early as February 2025, according to the indictment unsealed Wednesday.

The U.S. attorney’s office also said that the suspects are still being investigated in connection to the thefts of more than 100 vehicles in the District of Columbia and 30 more in Prince George’s County.

Prosecutors said that the theft ring used on-board diagnostics devices to reprogram stolen cars, primarily Honda Civic sedans, Honda CRV compact SUVs, Acura TLX sedans and Acura RDX SUVs, to accept formerly blank key fobs.

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro explained that “there are parts of the Honda Civics that can be used in other cars as well,” which led the theft ring to target that vehicle, other Hondas, and models by Acura, Honda’s luxury division.

The Civic has also been one of the world’s best-selling cars for decades.

Some cars of other makes and models were also stolen, though, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors also accused the suspects of changing the license plates on the cars, obscuring their vehicle identification numbers and disabling the GPS and Bluetooth capabilities in the cars so that they could not be detected.

The stolen cars were stored at facilities including a parking garage at 70 I Street Southeast, according to the indictment. A garage at a Marriott hotel in Maryland was also used in the scheme, Ms. Pirro said.

The cars were then shipped and sold to buyers in the U.S. as well as in the West African nation of Ghana.

Authorities also executed a search warrant Tuesday at an Atlanta-area facility believed to be connected to the scheme.

All six suspects are being charged with conspiracy to possess, sell, and transport stolen motor vehicles. Other charges listed in the unsealed indictment include possession, receipt or storage of a stolen motor vehicle, interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, first-degree theft and aiding and abetting.

Mr. Wetzel was previously charged with grand larceny auto theft in Fairfax County following an arrest in December 2023.

He was released on bail and, per Virginia court records, Fairfax County District Attorney Steve Descano ultimately dropped the charges against Mr. Wetzel in August 2024.