- Jack Roush’s company was the victim of a broader large-scale vehicle theft scheme.
- Authorities discovered many stolen vehicles at an airport, leading to a major bust.
- At least two perpetrators are now facing serious charges in the state of Wisconsin.
Roush-tuned vehicles are no doubt desirable to many. In fact, criminals aren’t above trying to take them when the opportunity arises. You’d probably say that, in other news, water is wet – so what’s the story here? Well, in that case, what makes it interesting is that the vehicle was stolen from an employee of Roush. That happened all the way back in 2022, and now the FBI has recovered the vehicle and nabbed the man allegedly responsible.
Authorities believe that Diaunte Shields is the mastermind behind several vehicle thefts. One of those crimes evidently happened on November 18, 2022, when suspects stole two Ford trucks from the Roush grounds in Livonia, Michigan. A couple of weeks later, police allegedly saw Shields in the Roush truck parked in a Milwaukee apartment complex.
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According to documents obtained by the Detroit News, the FBI was on Shield’s trail after a slew of thefts at the local airport. Between April 2021 and June 2022, police received reports of 20 stolen vehicles including Ram trucks, Jeep Grand Cherokees, and at least one Dodge Durango. It’s unclear why the team switched over to Ford vehicles but the FBI reports that it spotted a Ford Bronco Raptor around the time that the Roush truck went missing.
What the thieves didn’t know at the time was that a tipster was working with the FBI. That person told police that Shields and two others were responsible for the thefts at the airport.
They further revealed where Shields would keep the cars after the deed was done. When they went to the location with a search warrant they found a lone Dodge Challenger. Rather than recover it, they put a GPS tracker on it and left it as a trap.
That trap helped officers find Shields at the apartment complex with the Roush truck. It’s unclear how officers ultimately caught Shields but he’s in jail now. The Detroit News says officers actually found the truck in Texas of all places.
“The conspirators sold the vehicles for below their fair-market value to others who knew or reasonably should have known the vehicles were stolen,” the indictment says. Shields is now facing charges including conspiracy to deal in stolen motor vehicles.
