Bluetooth pairing connects owner to stolen car during resale
Published:Friday | January 10, 2025 | 12:07 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
An automatic Bluetooth connection between a used car’s radio system and a prospective buyer’s cellphone helped reunite a Corporate Area man with his stolen car.
The 35-year-old man had parked his 2016 Toyota Aqua Hybrid, securely locking it and retiring to bed, in the Barbican area of St Andrew one night in August 2024.
The next morning, he woke up to find that the car was gone. A search of the area, along with surveillance footage from CCTV, led to the discovery of two men stealing the vehicle, which was valued at $1.4 million.
He reported the theft to the police.
Amando Samuels, a 40-year-old driver of a Braeton address in Portmore, St Catherine, was recently arrested and charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property in the case.
Samuels was nabbed after the owner of the motor vehicle successfully identified his stolen vehicle being advertised for sale in Bridgeport, St Catherine.
The Gleaner understands that in addition to the sync of the Bluetooth radio and his cellphone, certain repairs the vehicle owner had made to the bumper and distinct marks on the seat were identified.
The police were contacted, and the vehicle was processed by a team from the Serial Number Restoration Unit.
The Gleaner was told that an inspection revealed that the motor vehicle engine and chassis numbers had been tampered with to match those of a crashed vehicle that had been written off by an insurance company.
BE CAUTIOUS
Deputy Superintendent of Police Glendale Murdock, crime officer for the St Andrew North Division, is advising individuals buying used cars to ensure that the vehicle’s title matches the seller’s name, perform background checks, obtain car history reports, and have the vehicle inspected for tampering.
“Local car dealers should ensure the vehicle they are selling on behalf of a third party belongs to those individuals. The necessary checks and balances are to be done as well,” Murdock said in a Gleaner interview.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Randy Sweeney, the St Andrew North divisional commander, also urged the public to be vigilant as the division recorded an increase in motor vehicle larceny in 2024.
“Take steps to properly secure motor vehicles and report persons suspected to be involved in larceny of motor vehicles to the police through 119 or Crime Stop at 311,” Sweeney appealed.
A court appearance is being arranged for Samuels.
Meanwhile, as of the end of October 2014, over half a billion dollars worth of motor vehicles – 119 cases – were reported stolen in St Andrew North. For the entire year 2022, there were 113 motor vehicle larceny cases in the division, the police told The Gleaner.