Richmond Hill man accused of stealing vehicles during meetups for ads posted online

Editor’s note, Nov. 19, 2024: The name of the accused has been removed.

A 20-year-old man from Richmond Hill is facing several charges for allegedly stealing vehicles while posing as a potential buyer in response to online ads.

In December of last year, York Regional Police officers responded to a call for a vehicle theft in Vaughan. Police say a man posted his vehicle for sale online but when the person who responded to the ad came to look at it, they drove it away. Officers later tracked down the vehicle.

After expanding their investigation into the suspect, police allege he was also responsible for other incidents where he would drive off with people’s vehicles when meeting up in-person with the sellers.

Police have since recovered a 2021 grey Mercedes, a 2021 grey Porsche, and a 2021 grey Audi, which were all re-vinned.

Police arrested the man on Feb. 28 and charged him with three counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000, Theft of Motor Vehicle Over $5,000, Robbery with a Firearm, and Possession Opioid.

Investigators believe the suspect was also working with another person, who remains at-large, and that they may be responsible for other similar vehicle thefts across the GTA.

“In all of the cases believed to be linked to these suspects, they would arrange to come and look at
the vehicle, then ask to get in it to ensure it was running properly. Once the vehicle was running, the
suspect drove it away,” police said in a release.

Police are warning anyone selling their car not to let anyone you don’t know in the driver’s seat of their vehicle unaccompanied while it is running, and to document the potential buyer’s driver’s licence before permitting a test drive.