Investigators say they were auto thieves in Ventura County with a need for speed. Detectives say they've broken up a ring with ties to four Southern California counties which focused on stealing expensive high performance cars.
The ring is blamed for stealing 16 Dodge "Hellcat" cars in the county. They are high performance versions of Dodge Chargers, worth more than $90,000 each. As investigators realized the specific cars were being targeted, they discovered the same thing was happening in San Bernardino County.
A joint investigation led to search warrants being served at 18 Southern California locations this week. Nine people were arrested. Four of them have been charged in Ventura County. The Los Angeles men are being held in the Ventura County Jail on charges ranging from auto theft to illegal weapons charges.
28 suspected stolen vehicles were recovered, including 10 of the 16 cars reported stolen in Ventura County.
