Auto theft group stole nearly $2.5 million worth of vehicles: HCSO

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A group that stole nearly $2.5 million worth of vehicles in Florida has been dismantled, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.

“Operation Family Affair” spanned from March 18 to Aug. 18 of this year and centered around Rafael Garcia and his 16-year-old brother, who the sheriff’s office said played a role in the theft of over 30 vehicles from more than 20 dealerships dating back to Dec. 2023.

Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

The thefts occurred in Columbia, Pasco, Pinellas, Alachua, Marion, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, Collier, and Hillsborough counties.

“What they were doing is, going to car dealerships, and they were doing this in 12 counties,” said Amanda Granit with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. “And they would go to the car dealership, and they would enter the car somehow, sometimes they would break a window or a sunroof and then they would use that high tech technology to make a key of its own.”

The sheriff’s office said the suspects would use a programmer to create a new key. The cars would then be taken to a storage unit and stripped for parts or sold to a buyer.

Vehicles stolen included high-end Chrysler models such as Charger Hellcat and Challenger Hellcat. Other high-end models targeted included the Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Camaro, Jeep TrackHawk, and Dodge Ram TRX.

“These are high end cars,” Granit said. “We are talking about Corvettes, Camaros, very expensive Jeeps. These are cars that you and I would work very hard for to purchase one.”

“The work of our Auto Theft Unit, alongside our partners throughout the state, sends a loud and resounding message: there is no place for vehicle theft in Florida,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “These individuals not only conspired to commit a continuous pattern of crime but were deriving substantial profits from their activity. Our detectives and deputies conducted a thorough investigation and held these criminals accountable for their actions.”

Court documents show the thieves targeted new car lots in 12 counties and then would sell the stolen cars to unsuspecting buyers or they would chop up the new cars and sell them for parts.’
However, the sheriff’s office says the thieves are very young.

“Clearly, they were going down a very bad path, but not only that, this is dangerous; this is criminal,” Granit said.

Five of the six people who were involved in the theft ring were arrested, detectives said. Two of the suspects were minors, including Garcia’s younger brother, according to the sheriff’s office.

The adult suspects are as follows:

Rafael Edward Garcia, 21