Six teenagers, referred to as ‘bumper car thieves’ by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, have been arrested and charged in connection with a series of auto thefts in Loudoun County and Northern Virginia.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kraig Troxell said the teenagers were racing stolen cars up and down Loudoun County back roads, "smashing into each other."
Over the past several weeks, eight cars have been stolen in Loudoun County. Seven out of eight cars were Hondas, Troxell said.
"Hondas are more popular to steal. Their parts are worth more for resale, but I’m not sure why they stole Hondas," he said.
The cars were stolen from Sterling and then raced up and down the back roads of western Loudoun. Seven cars were left abandoned in the area and one car was set on fire, according to a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office press release. Damages resulted in $100,000.
ON JAN. 24, Sheriff’s deputies noticed four cars parked on the side of Route 7 near Fort Johnson Road in the Waterford area. The cars relocated to Alysheba Drive. Three cars took off again, but the fourth driver exited the vehicle and ran away. An 18-year-old from Falls Church and 16-year-old from Fairfax were pulled from stolen Honda Civics and taken into custody that night.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Auto Theft Unit identified five suspects through a joint investigation with the Fairfax County and Arlington Police departments. The Sheriff’s Office believes the suspects were involved in seven other Northern Virginia car thefts.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office tied the suspects to Dec. 28 and Jan. 9 auto thefts. The Sheriff’s Office charged them with five counts of grand larceny and five counts of conspiracy to commit grand larceny. The Fairfax County Police Department has charged them with multiple felonies.
Drag racing was popular in eastern Loudoun County, near Ashburn, more than five years ago, but Troxell said the Sheriff’s Office hadn’t seen many incidents of racing in a few years.