Two men charged in connection to theft from Adams County car dealership

Two men from Maryland have been charged by police in connection to the thefts of two cars from a dealership in Gettysburg in April.

Jefferson Ventura, 18, and London Flores, 19, both of Silver Spring, Maryland, face felony charges of theft, burglary and criminal mischief related to the April 26, 2024 theft of two vehicles from the showroom of Renn Kirby Chevrolet in Straban Township.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Flores, Ventura and a third unidentified co-conspirator were allegedly involved in the thefts of a silver 2024 Chevrolet Corvette, worth $88,640, and a yellow 2018 ZL1 convertible Chevrolet Camaro, worth $58,500.

Further investigation tied the pair to similar thefts from car dealerships around Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that around 12:06 a.m., three suspects in a dark blue Dodge Challenger Hellcat drove onto the lot of Renn Kirby Chevrolet on Expedition Trail in Straban Township, just outside of Gettysburg.

One of the men, later identified as Ventura, got out of the vehicle and used an unknown item to shatter the glass door to the showroom, according to the affidavit. Ventura and a second man, later identified as Flores, then entered the showroom.

The third suspect, who was not identified, drove the Dodge Challenger Hellcat the remainder of the incident, the affidavit states.

Ventura and Flores found the Corvette and Camaro in the showroom, and turned them on, but were unable to open the glass vehicle doors to get them out, the affidavit states.

The pair discovered keys to a Chevy Equinox that was parked outside the showroom, and Ventura used the vehicle to ram the glass vehicle doors to the showroom, the affidavit states.

During the destruction of the glass vehicle doors, the Equinox struck another Chevy Equinox, and damaged a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that was parked inside the showroom.

The affidavit states that the three then drove away in the Corvette, Camaro and Dodge Challenger.

The Corvette was equipped with On Star, which was activated around 10:29 a.m. that morning and disabled the engine.

GPS tracking in the vehicle found it was located in Silver Spring, Maryland, and led Montgomery County Police to the vehicle's location, the affidavit states.

The Corvette was found by Maryland police covered in a tarp on the 10,000 block of Huntley Place in Silver Spring, and had a stolen Pennsylvania registration plate on it, according to the affidavit.

The stolen plate was determined to be from a theft that occurred at a dealership in Chester County, Pennsylvania on April 24, 2024, according to the affidavit, where 13 license plates were stolen.

A second stolen plate was located on a stolen blue Camaro that was also found on Huntley Place, the affidavit states.

The investigation led multiple police agencies in Pennsylvania and Maryland to connect their investigations, with similar robberies occurring at car dealerships.

On May 6, 2024, Pennsylvania State Police were contacted by Howard County, Maryland, police, who informed them that their investigation had performed a "tower dump" search warrant, which had gathered all cellphones in the proximity at the time of one of Howard County's burglary.

From information gathered by the warrant, the Howard County detective had discovered that their suspect's phone was located in the area of the Gettysburg car dealership at the time of the Gettysburg robbery, which connected the two cases, the affidavit states.

Pennsylvania State Police then shared information on the Chester County robbery, and they were able to determine the same phone was in the area of that robbery at the time of the robbery.

Further investigation and search warrants led investigators to determine that the phone belonged to London Flores, who lived on Gridley Lane in Silver Spring. Flores' address was found to be within walking distance of Huntley Place.

On May 14, 2024, Montgomery County Police performed a search warrant on Flores' house, where Flores and Ventura were detained, the affidavit states.

During the search, police found numerous key fobs, key fob programming equipment, a "large amount" of cash, a firearm, and the pair's cell phones, the affidavit states.

Among the items seized was a hoodie owned by Ventura, which matched surveillance footage from the Gettysburg robbery, the affidavit states.

Flores and Ventura were arrested and held in Maryland, the affidavit states.

Pennsylvania State Police performed their own tower dump search warrant, according to the affidavit, which additionally showed that Flores and Ventura's phones were located in the area of the dealership during the robbery.

Damages to the show room doors cost $25,553, the affidavit states, and the damages to the Chevy Equinox used to ram the doors totaled $30,230.

Ventura and Flores were held without bond in Maryland, according to court records.

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Two men charged in connection to theft from Adams County car dealership