I am posting this with several intentions. First, to bring awareness to the crime. Second, to provide how this occurred. And third, why this particular crime matters. To be clear, this entire incident was an orchestrated crime. My father-in-law, Buzz Hinkle, was selling a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air that he had restored. On Thursday evening, June 11, a man arrived to purchase the car. There were several phone calls to discuss the car and negotiate an agreed-upon price. The man drove from South Carolina and brought a trailer. There were two other men with him. He first wanted to drive the car before finalizing the purchase. Finding no problem with the car, he wanted to finalize the purchase with a cashiers check for the agreed-upon price. As part of the deal, a photo was taken of the man’s drivers license and my father-in-law kept the car’s title. During the course of this entire encounter, the to accompanying men remained in the truck. One was a middle-aged adult, and the other appeared to be late teens in age. There was another man present with my father-in-law throughout this encounter. When they were leaving, the man who purchased the car decided he wanted to drive the car. We know the car was put on a trailer at a location 30 miles away and was also spotted a short distance thereafter. The next morning, the check proved to be fraudulent. The phone number was no longer active. At that point, the scam was evident. This was reported and is an active investigation.
This crime matters for several reasons. 1) This car was stolen through deliberate and deceptive activity. There were several conversations prior to the date the incident occurred; 2) This is likely an organized criminal car theft ring. The man pictured on the falsified driver’s license is a criminal. The photo is the person that negotiated the intended purchase and drove away in the car. This man was likely hired to do exactly what he did. The other two men that sat in the vehicle during this incident had a purpose for being there and we will never know that purpose, however they are accomplices to this crime. It’s conceivable that they came there with the intention of taking the car by whatever means necessary. It is also possible that this is part of a larger criminal car theft network; and 3) This car is owned by an 83-year old that proudly restored this car over a period of several years. Anyone who knows Buzz understands his honesty and enthusiasm for meticulously restoring vehicles. It’s a lifelong hobby of his. He is, unfortunately, equally trusting of others, especially those in the vintage, antique, and classic car group. Buzz has restored numerous cars and trucks throughout the years and sold it traded all of them in the same trusting manner. This is a crime of horrific magnitude, however this is just one more example of many scams similar in nature. We understand that we will likely not see this car again. What we can do is make the criminal in the driver’s license photo famous. Someone knows him and I surmise that this is a common activity for him and his co-conspirator criminal friends. The world could use more people like Buzz Hinkle as he harbors no hate and simply cannot fathom how someone could do such a horrible thing. Let’s laminate the internet with his photo and help this criminal be placed where he truly belongs.
jacobvanloon
2087
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