Dealership Worker Returns To Steal Cars Years After Getting Fired
A dealership is under constant threat of theft. In addition to assembling new and used cars of value, a dealer may have valuable personally identifiable information, pricey accessories, and expensive tools. As such, a jaded former employee with the know-how to attempt an escape with stolen cars is a serious concern. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened when a disgraced former worker returned to a dealership to commit car thefts.
A former dealership worker returned to steal cars years after being canned for petty theft
It sounds like something from a comedy film. A dealership worker of ill repute loses their job due to dishonesty or incompetence. Then, after the smoke clears and years pass, that same silly worker returns to right their imagined wrongs. They attempt to steal new cars from that same dealer. I mean, Dan Fogler’s character in Take Me Home Tonight standing in an R107 Mercedes-Benz 560SL as he shouts “We stole a car!” comes to mind.
Well, all joking aside, that’s the exact Acme dynamite kit thinking that landed Lee Scott back in hot water. Years ago, the Budget Car Centre in Stockton-on-Tees, Great Britain fired Scott for petty theft.
However, while that may have been done and done for many former employees, Scott thought the dealership warranted another thievery attempt. So, in October of 2022, Scott and an unnamed accomplice broke a window at the dealer. They selected their first vehicular victim and stole it.
It happens, right? Not quite like this. Scott and his compatriot drove the first car away, stashed it, and returned by taxi cab, per Car Dealer Magazine. After the return trip, the car thief reentered the establishment and stole another car. The two criminals repeated this maneuver until they had stolen four cars.
Interestingly enough, the estimated value of the cars Scott stole amounted to about £20,000. About $25,825 with today’s exchange rate. Budget Car Centre, indeed. Accurate advertising aside, it seems like a lot of risk for less than $26,000.
And risky it was. Scott and his accomplice showed up on closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera systems. Not only that, but the car thief’s footprints were present throughout the crime scene. Perhaps taking pity on Scott, UK Judge Nathan Adams reportedly sentenced Scott to prison for nine months, citing the “not overly sophisticated” nature of the crimes.
