Six charged in conspiracy to steal vehicles from D.C. and Pennsylvania and transport them across state lines, and as far as Ghana
Six people are accused of operating an international vehicle theft ring that sent stolen cars from the Northeast as far off as Africa, officials said.
On April 22, 2026, a 15-count indictment was unsealed, charging the following individuals with conspiracy to possess, sell, and transport stolen motor vehicles:
- 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
A sixth person has been charged but is still at large and considered a fugitive. This person’s indictment remains sealed.
Officials say that these individuals stole at least 20 cars in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and Pennsylvania, transported the vehicles across state lines, and sold the vehicles to buyers in the United States and the African nation of Ghana.
“According to the allegations in the indictment, members of the conspiracy caused the vehicles – primarily recently manufactured Honda Civics and CRVs and Acura TLXs and RDXs – to be stolen and then transported them to storage locations that included a parking garage in Southeast Washington D.C. At the garage, co-conspirators allegedly disguised the appearances of the stolen cars by swapping license plates and obscuring Vehicle Identification Numbers. Before transporting the vehicles, the defendants disabled the stolen vehicles’ GPS and Bluetooth capabilities to inhibit detection,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.
As part of this investigation, a search warrant was served April 21 at an automobile storage facility in Decatur, Georgia, believed to be connected to this car theft operation.
Investigators are also working to tie the six charged individuals to the theft of more than 100 vehicles in the District of Columbia and more than 30 vehicles in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Criminal Investigations Unit, and the FBI Washington Field Office.