Sarasota man charged with Grand Theft Auto and replacing the serial number on sports car

Dalton Moyer allegedly stole vehicle in Ohio

Dalton Moyer. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 23-year-old Sarasota man in connection with the alleged theft of a high-performance sports car and the replacement of the vehicle’s serial number, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has reported.

Dalton Landen-Wayne Moyer, of 8963 W. Silkwood Court, was arrested on the evening of Jan. 18 at the Sheriff’s Office’s headquarters on Cattleridge Boulevard in Sarasota, the probably cause affidavit says.

He has been charged with felony counts of Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of a Vehicle with Altered Numbers, the affidavit notes. His total bond was set at $3,000, the agency’s Corrections Division noted.

Moyer was released on bond on Jan. 19, the Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division records show. His arraignment is set for Feb. 25, the records say.
“Detectives launched their investigation in December [2021] after receiving a tip about car thefts,” including an incident involving a red Dodge Charger Hellcat, a Sheriff’s Office news release explains. That tip came through the Crime Stoppers organization, which enables persons to offer information confidentially, as noted in the probable cause affidavit for the case.

Detectives subsequently learned that Patrol Division deputies recently had initiated a traffic stop involving a similar vehicle, which Moyer was driving, the release adds; however, he was listed as the registered owner.

The deputies who made the stop reported that the blue-and-black Dodge Charger was “badged as a Hellcat,” the affidavit notes.

Upon further investigation, the news release continues, “[D]etectives determined the visible vehicle identification number (VIN) belonged to a blue 2015 Dodge Charger owned by Moyer that was damaged beyond repair” in a traffic crash in Ohio, the release points out.

The probable cause affidavit in the case points out that Moyer’s birthplace was Waterville, Ohio. His occupation, it says, is in sales for Nolands Roofing of Clermont.

The affidavit then explains that a detective contacted Fiat Chrysler of America representative Joseph Phillips, who deals with Florida Lemon Law complaints and sales. When the detective provided Phillips with photos of the totaled Charger and the one that officers had seen Moyer driving, the affidavit continues, “Phillips stated there was no way to make the totaled vehicle roadworthy without spending twice the cost of [a] new vehicle from the dealership.”

Moreover, the affidavit points out, Phillips told the detective that the electronics from a 2015 vehicle “would not be compatible with the electronics [from the vehicle Moyer was driving when officers stopped him].”

A detective then obtained a search warrant to undertake a more in-depth analysis of Moyer’s vehicle, the affidavit adds.

On Jan. 18, Moyer was observed driving the Charger at the Tractor Supply store in Venice. Officers told him they needed to take the vehicle to the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters in Sarasota, the affidavit says, but Moyer was able to leave the scene.

This is a 2018 Dodge Charger Hellcat. Image by Bull Doser via Wikimedia Commons

At the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters, officers executed the search warrant to obtain electronic data from the main computer and to find the confidential VIN number in the vehicle, the affidavit continues.

After obtaining the number and running it through national law enforcement databases, the affidavit notes, officers learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen from Fulton County, Ohio. It had been repainted blue, the affidavit says.
The investigation is ongoing, the news release points out, with additional charges pending.

A Sarasota News Leader search of court records found several traffic infractions with which Moyer had been charged since April 2021.

For example, on April 4, 2021, he was stopped just before 9 p.m. because he was not using headlights while driving on Midnight Pass Road on Siesta Key. That citation listed his address as Bowling Green, Ohio. It also noted that he was driving a 2015 blue Dodge.

The civil penalty for that infraction was $166, the citation said.

For another example, he was cited just before midnight on Oct. 6, 2021 for careless driving on Jacaranda Boulevard in Venice and having no proof of insurance. The penalty for the former infraction also was $166, the document shows, while the fee for failure to have proof of insurance was $116.