When someone steals a car, it tends to make the news. When someone steals a semi-truck, it tends to make you wonder how exactly that works. These things weigh 80,000 pounds fully loaded and are not exactly easy to tuck behind a bush. Yet a pair of men from Hope Mills and Raeford, North Carolina, apparently figured out a method that kept investigators busy across two states for quite some time.
Andrew Jumpp, 37, of Hope Mills and Prince Betts of Raeford were arrested following coordinated raids on properties in Cumberland and Hoke counties, carried out by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation this past Wednesday. The operation they are accused of running targeted commercial trucks and trailers across North and South Carolina, adding up to more than $630,000 in stolen vehicles before authorities caught up with them.
What made this scheme a little more involved than your average theft was the rental angle. According to state officials, the suspects allegedly stole the trucks, then altered the vehicle identification numbers and license plates, and turned around and rented the rigs to unsuspecting businesses and individuals. In other words, the stolen property was generating income while investigators were still trying to figure out where it went. That takes a certain kind of nerve, or at least a remarkable tolerance for risk…