11 people indicted in vehicle theft ring
By ALEX BRANCH
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

FORT WORTH - Eleven suspects in the case of an auto-theft ring that targeted Mercedeses, Lexuses and expensive pickups from dealerships and airport parking lots were indicted Monday by a Tarrant County grand jury on organized-crime charges.

The eight men and three women are accused of stealing the vehicles and selling them for $1,700 to $2,500 each, police said.

"Some of the cars were worth $50,000," said Sgt. Mark Wilson of the Fort Worth police auto-theft task force. "But you can't ask a lot for them because without the title or a clean VIN number, there's not a lot you can do but strip them."

Investigators became aware of the ring in April when cars began disappearing from dealerships in Fort Worth and surrounding cities. Some were stolen from parking lots near Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

Undercover officers sought information from informants and made contact with suspects, auto-theft Lt. Chris Beckrich said. The suspects agreed to sell the stolen vehicles to the officers.

The investigation took time because police wanted to shut down the entire ring, he said.

Investigators eventually determined that the group was led by an Irving man nicknamed "Doughboy," Beckrich said. Police believe he is John Ray Eagan, 39, who was indicted Monday.

Many of those involved were wanted for other crimes or for parole violations, Beckrich said. Police gradually arrested them on those warrants -- not on car-theft charges -- so they wouldn't tip others in the ring that police were on to them.

"They even called the undercover officers from jail and tried to sell us more cars," Beckrich said. "They didn't think their arrests had anything to do with the car-theft ring."

Police recovered about $437,000 worth of stolen vehicles and seized a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine, he said.

IN THE KNOW
Auto-theft ring

Indicted Monday by a Tarrant County grand jury on charges of engaging in organized crime:

Tiffany Krystal Robert, 23, Irving
Arash Patrick Rasti, 21, Flower Mound
Tara Lea Ricklefs, 35, Plano
Robert Orin Hammond, 42, Crandall
Christina Marie Harris, 28, McKinney
Paul William Knowles, 24, Dallas
John Ray Eagan, 39, Irving
Ricky Mac Dickens, 36, Corinth
Norman Wayne Chandler, 29, Irving
Rex Allen Butler, 22, Mesquite
Reginald Spencer Butler, 22, Dallas

 

WOW... glad to see a big bust like this..

those people are all too close to home.

 

Fuggin' theives. Give 'em the chair.

 

The beauty in this, is that when you're charged in an Org Crime ring, it's RICO, guaranteeing you more jail time.