A 21-year-old Michigan man was arrested over the weekend for his alleged involvement in stealing several vehicles from General Motor’s Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green.
Investigators were searching for eight Corvettes that were reported stolen from the plant at 600 Corvette Drive sometime on March 22, when they were tipped off to suspicious activity a Lowe’s parking lot involving three new Corvettes.
Police said the driver of a transport company told police he was called to the Lowe’s parking lot at 150 American Avenue Saturday afternoon to take a 2017 Corvette to Detroit.
The transport driver said two people were waiting with three new 2025 Corvettes, when he arrived. He told police they pushed him to work quickly, and were in a big hurry for him to load the vehicles and leave.
The driver also noticed damage to the undercarriage of one of the cars and decided to call police, because the transaction felt “weird.”
As officers arrived at the scene, they saw two men who took off running when ordered to stop. One officer caught up with 21-year-old Deantae Walker as he was running away and yelling for a man driving a gray Jeep with Ohio tags. Police are still looking for the Jeep and its driver.
The estimated value of the stolen Corvettes is $350,000, according to court documents. An official from the Corvette plant estimated it will cost at least $1,000 to fix the vehicle with the damaged undercarriage.
Walker is charged with three counts of receiving stolen property over $10,000, fleeing or evading police, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.
A judge entered not guilty pleas on Walker’s behalf during a March 24 arraignment and set his bond at $10,000 cash. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 28. He is being held at the Warren County Regional Jail.
