Woman trying to steal car at dealership calls 911 to report herself, Florida cops say

A car theft was thwarted when a witness called 911, but the conversation got weird when the woman revealed she was the one stealing the car, according to investigators in Florida.

It happened just before 1 a.m. Friday, May 31, at Val Ward Cadillac in Fort Myers, about a 130-mile drive south of Tampa.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office says the “unusual 911 call” lead deputies directly to witness who was also the suspect.

“A female (stated) that she was attempting to steal a vehicle from the dealership parking lot and wanted the police to know,” the sheriff’s office said in a video posted June 5 on Facebook.

“Deputies arrived on scene and observed (the suspect) exiting the side of the stolen (Toyota) Corolla.”

The woman then explained that she was participating in “a game of Black Ops to steal a car” and hoped telling deputies in advance would “make the carjacking legal,” officials said.

It didn’t.

However, the timely arrival of deputies did prevent her from being charged with grand theft.

The 37-year-old woman was instead charged with trespassing on accusations of entering the dealership parking lot after closing, according to a report. It is her sixth arrest since 2005, jail records show.

A search of the dealership revealed a door had been left open on an Audi A5, but there was no evidence of vehicles being stolen, officials said.

This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Woman trying to steal car at dealership calls 911 to report herself, Florida cops say."