Six people have been arrested in connection with a Port Allen car heist operation, accused of breaking into high-value Dodge vehicles, taking the key fobs and leaving AirTags inside to later locate and steal the cars, the West Ïã¸ÛÁùºÍ¿ª½±ÀúÊ·¼Ç¼ Sheriff's Office said.
"Operation Hellcat" began in March 2023 after the theft of two vehicles at the Port Allen Auto Facility on South Westport Drive and Leblanc Road. Starting in July, dealerships around Louisiana began reporting vehicles delivered with the key fobs missing. At the same time, AirTags were recovered in vehicles at the dealerships and in purchased vehicles. AirTags are coin-sized GPS tracking devices sold by tech giant Apple.Â
The vehicles were determined to have originated from the Port Allen Auto Facility, where multiple AirTags were found and key fobs were also reported missing.
Law enforcement officials were able to identify Keleen Magee, 26, of Westwego and Dion Roberts, 24, of Thibodaux as the AirTag owners. An additional AirTag was later determined to be registered to Joseph Parker Jr., 38, of Harvey.
In December and January, the Sheriff's Office was alerted of attempted vehicle thefts at the Port Allen Auto Facility. In the January attempt, the suspect tried to run the vehicle through the main security gate, causing damage to the vehicle, the Sheriff's Office said.
Detectives identified Kelsey Smith, 25, of Thibodaux, as the driver.Â
Later that month, a Lafayette dealership reported a vehicle theft. The vehicle was also tied to the Port Allen Auto Facility and missing a key fob.
In March, the suspects went back to the Port Allen Auto Facility, but deputies were unable to locate them.
Arrest warrants for the suspects were issued on March 21, along with search warrants for four residences in Jefferson Parish and another residence in Lafourche Parish.
The Sheriff's Office said 19 key fobs, grinders, burglary tools and three additional AirTags were found, along with evidence of other crimes.
Magee, Roberts, Parker and Smith were arrested in connection to the burglaries and booked on multiple counts. Detectives also arrested Ja'Quan Price, 18, of Jefferson, and Ashanti Bradley, 22, of Westwego.
Kenneth Stackhouse, 25, of Westwego, is still at large, the Sheriff's Office said.
"Operation Hellcat" involved 11 other agencies, the Sheriff's Office said. Following the thefts, key fobs are no longer kept inside the vehicles at the Port Allen Auto Facility.
