2 sentenced to prison, 2 more plead guilty in Dayton chop shop and car theft ring

The front windows of the Walter H. Rice Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Dayton. THOMAS GNAU / STAFF

Credit: Thomas Gnau

Credit: Thomas Gnau

The front windows of the Walter H. Rice Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Dayton. THOMAS GNAU / STAFF

Additional suspects in multi-state vehicle theft ring that involved a Dayton chop shop have been sentenced.

Judge Walter H. Rice sentenced Jamarkiss Weaver to in U.S. District Court in Dayton to five years in prison and Courage Wolugboms to 15 months in prison, according to U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio records.

Weaver and Wolugboms will spend three years on supervised release once they are released from prison.

Wolugboms previously pleaded guilty to operation of a chop shop and Weaver pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle that crossed state line after being stolen, according to court documents.

They both had one count of conspiring to transport stolen vehicles, possess stolen cars, to traffic in stolen vehicles and stolen vehicle parts dismissed.

Two other defendants have pleaded guilty in the case.

Quintin Clemons Jr. pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle that crossed a state line after being stolen.

Stephen Wilhite pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, possess stolen vehicles that crossed a state line after being stolen.

The sentencing for Clemons is May 5 and for Wilhite on May 6.

In total, seven men were indicted in the multi-state care theft ring. Deareion Clay, Andrew Placke Jr. and Kahrese Lee also were charged.

They’re accused of stealing dozens of vehicles and processing them at chop shops between October 2023 and October 2024 on North Irwin Avenue in Dayton and in Cullman, Alabama.

Lee operated the Dayton facility and Wilhite used the Alabama one, according to court records.

Lee trained Weaver, Clemons and Clay on how to use electronic devices to start vehicles without a key, the indictment stated.

After a vehicle was stolen Weaver, Clemons and Clay would allegedly bring it to Lee and Wolugombs to be paid.

“If defendant Lee and Wolugboms did not want the vehicle, defendants Weaver, Clemons and Clay either found another buyer for it or joyrode in it until the vehicle crashed or was discovered by law enforcement,” the indictment read.

Other vehicles were stripped for parts or altered for resale.

Wolugboms was accused of helping strip parts from the stolen vehicles and using them in other vehicles.

“The conglomeration of stolen parts compromising the chop shop’s finished products rendered it difficult, if not impossible, to determine who and how much to compensate victims of these car thefts,” a sentencing memo for Wolugboms read.

The car theft ring involved $1.5 million worth of vehicles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In May 2024, the Dayton chop shop reportedly housed more than half a million dollars worth of stolen vehicles and vehicle parts.

Placke allegedly helped transport stolen vehicles from Indiana to the Alabama chop shop.

Three of the vehicles he transported had a combined value of more than $200,000, according to the indictment.

Wilhite reportedly bought stolen vehicles and parts and resold them in Alabama. After investigators drove the car theft ring from the Dayton chop shop, Wilhite allowed the group to set up in an Alabama garage, according to court records.

Clay, who previously pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle that crossed a state line after being stolen, will be sentenced Feb. 25, according to court records.

Lee was sentenced to seven years in prison and Placke was sentenced to 40 months in prison. They both will spend three years on probation after they’re released.

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