Kendall Clark, a 25-year-old man from Murrieta, faces 18 felony charges, such as embezzlement and car theft, linked to a reported luxury car theft ring. As revealed by the Riverside County District Attorney, Clark was taken in to custody by law enforcement officers from RAID on October 18.
Clark is thought to have filled out rental forms for the vehicles, procured a week-long rental agreement, and promptly met the owners to pick up the cars in Lake Mathews. Rather than returning the vehicles, authorities assert he either forged or "washed" their titles marking a change of ownership, consequently leaving the original owners unable to declare them as stolen.
Riverside County District Attorney states that the stolen vehicles, valuing over $1 million together, comprise a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette, 2015 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Jeep Wrangler, 2021 Porsche Cayenne, 2017 BMW i8, and 2020 Lamborghini Urus. Later, the cars had their return to their original owners after being located at several dealerships nationwide.
Clark maintained his innocence at his October 20 arraignment, pleading not guilty to all charges. Currently, he is being held at the Southwest Detention Center held on $250,000 bail. His felony settlement conference that is slated to occur on October 30 at Southwest Justice Center in Department S201.
RAID, a task force of detectives from county law enforcement agencies, operates in tandem with the District Attorney's Office to investigate and to prosecute offenses involving organized vehicle and vehicle-related thefts. Examples include car theft rings, chop shops, title washing efforts, and VIN switching schemes
In addition, Clark is currently under scrutiny to for more potential crimes associated with this case. Those having any information are asked to get in touch with Detective Matt Guzzino of the RAID task force at (951) 290-1923.
