The high-stakes drama of luxury car larceny continues to unfold in Riverside County with a second suspect, Gabriel Dean Watters, having entered a plea of not guilty to an array of twelve felonies connected to a grand-theft auto saga that reads straight out of a Hollywood script. Watters of San Diego, with a birth date of November 29, 1976, stands accused of charges including embezzlement, car theft, and the purchasing or receiving of stolen vehicles, as reported by Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
An updated sting operation by the Riverside Auto-Theft Interdiction Detail (RAID) has revealed more than wheels spinning in the shadows. They've stacked up a total of 30 felony charges against Kendall Jamison Clark, born August 30, 1998, in Murrieta. A second amended complaint presented by Deputy District Attorney Timothy Brown drew back the curtain on an elaborate scheme that involved marquee names like Porsche, Lamborghini, and Tesla, with the addition of a 2021 Boxter, a 2021 Aventador, a 2022 Model Y, and a 2022 Urus to the earlier list of purloined luxury cars.
The theft ring was first suspected in September when several luxury car owners reported that vehicles they had rented to Clark never came back. These individuals were baffled to find their names mysteriously removed from the vehicle titles when attempting to file theft reports. Clark's rendezvous with handcuffs was on October 18 in San Diego, exposing Watters as the buyer of these hot commodities, snagging them at prices far below their exorbitant market rates. According to authorities, Watters would meet Clark across Riverside County to exchange cash for cars before spiriting them away—sometimes even beyond the borders—into Mexico, looking for a buyer with fewer scruples and maybe more cash.
Watters' planned flight to San Francisco was cut short by RAID Task Force detectives on November 27 at the San Diego International Airport. Now, he waits with a $1 million bail weighing him down at the Southwest Detention Center. Meanwhile, Clark, having already pleaded not guilty, enjoyed the fleeting freedom delivered by a $250,000 bail. Both men are fenced in by the legal calendar, with Clark expected to show up at the Southwest Justice Center on December 14 for a felony settlement conference and Watters looking forward to a court date on December 8, where he'll confront his own fate at a settlement conference and bail review hearing.
Detective Matt Guzzino of the RAID task force is calling on anyone with a tip or lead to dial (951) 290-1923 to potentially close the curtain on this high-octane crime spree.
