Man Arrested For Montgomery, Anne Arundel County Auto Theft Schemes: Police

WHEATON, MD — Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department announced the arrest of a Jessup man for vehicle theft, forgery and other related offenses after the man purchased three motor vehicles with counterfeit cashier's checks and sold the stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers, police said.

Investigators are concerned that there may be more victims related to this scheme.

On August 11, 2016, a female victim contacted police to report the theft of two vehicles. She said her 2008 Mercury Mariner and 2000 Ford Explorer were missing after she advertised the vehicles for sale on various websites and social media outlets, police told Patch.

The man — Nicholas Ryan Metz, 33 — contacted the victim through the social media app "5miles" and agreed to purchase both vehicles, police said.

The woman met with Metz on August 11 in Wheaton to complete the sale of both vehicles. Metz gave them victim a cashier's check, later determined to be fraudulent, and the victim gave him the keys and titles to both vehicles, police said.

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Later that day, the victim took the cashier's check to a bank and was told the check was fraudulent. The woman called Metz and told him the check was fraudulent, and he agreed to met with her at a restaurant in Baltimore to give her cash. Metz never showed up, police said. Both vehicles have since been recovered.

On December 20, 2016, a man contacted Montgomery County Police to report the theft of his 2016 Toyota Corolla, police said. The man said he advertised the car for sale on Craigslist, and was contacted by Metz.

Metz told the man he wanted to purchase the car, and met the man at a park in Burtonsville to complete the sale, police said. Metz gave the victim a cashier’s check that was later determined fraudulent, police said.

During the transaction, the victim told Metz he was calling the bank to ensure that the cashier’s check was valid. Metz asked the victim if he could test drive the vehicle, and the man said yes, police said.

Metz then drove the Corolla out of the park while two vehicles that had accompanied Metz into the park blocked the exit, preventing the victim from following Metz, police said.

Detectives later determined Metz sold the stolen vehicle to an Anne Arundel County resident, police said.

Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department recovered the stolen Corolla and obtained an arrest warrant for Metz, charging him with theft: $1,000 to under $10,000, police said.

Montgomery County Police Central Auto Theft detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Metz on February 3. They charged him with three counts of the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, forgery, and other related offenses, police said.

Metz is currently being held at the Howard County Department of Corrections in Jessup for similar crimes.

Detectives urge anyone who has information related to Metz’s scheme, or believe that they may have been the victim of a fraudulent sale of a motor vehicle by Metz, to contact the Central Auto Theft Unit at 240-773-6370.

The Montgomery County Police Department offers the following tips for buyers and sellers who engage in private party sales of vehicles:

• Ask the buyer or seller to meet you at a local police station for the initial test drive.

• Do not allow a potential buyer to test drive the vehicle with the title in their possession.

• Ask for the seller/buyer’s driver’s license and take a picture of it.

• Buyers should ask to inspect the registration and title for the vehicle. Ensure that the name on both documents is the seller’s name and that there are no current lien holders on the title.

• Accompany the buyer to their bank and have the buyer obtain a cashier’s check in your presence. Buyers and sellers can conduct the final sale of the vehicle, sign all paperwork (to include the bill of sale and title transfer) while inside of the bank.

• Walk away from a sale if either party is trying to rush the transaction.

Photo: Montgomery County Police Department