Sumter County 1-75 traffic stop leads to arrest of former Tampa car dealer for stolen Cadillac Escalade
Two stolen Cadillac Escalades: one stolen from Pennsylvania; second one, stolen from Clearwater, found in Tampa; VINs "tampered with, swapped and cloned"
Brooksville, Florida - During the week ending Dec. 1, 2023, Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers on Interstate-75 in Sumter County, Florida conducted a traffic stop on a 2018 Cadillac Escalade for excessive speed and a tag violation.
The driver, Yajaira Martinez, 39, of Riverview, Florida, told troopers that she had no paperwork for the vehicle, which had dealer plates attached to it.
According to the FHP, the vehicle's identification number (VIN) on the front windshield did not have a professional look and appeared to have been tampered with. When troopers checked the vehicle's secondary VIN, it also appeared to have been tampered with.
The vehicle's dealer tag on the 2018 Escalade involved in the traffic stop was assigned to a different vehicle, a 2020 Cadillac Escalade. Both VIN decals had been swapped from the factory issue (2018 Cadillac Escalade) to reflect a 2020 Cadillac Escalade. A comparison of both VINs and the attached tag confirmed that the stopped vehicle had been stolen from Pennsylvania.
After driver Martinez consented to a search of the vehicle, materials that belonged to the original vehicle (the 2018 Cadillac) were found within it. Ms. Martinez told troopers that she was the owner of a car dealership, Champa Bay Auto Brokers, located in Tampa, Florida that had recently closed. The dealership was first licensed in April 2022 and closed in April 2023.
Troopers located a 2022 Cadillac Escalade in the vicinity of the dealership that had been stolen from Clearwater, Florida in June 2023 and had also been "re-vinned."
The driver, Yajaira Martinez was arrested and transported to the Hernando County Detention Center in Brooksville, Florida on one count each of grand theft of a motor vehicle, and possession of a vehicle with altered numbers. Her bond was set at $4,000.
This investigation remains active and ongoing, and additional information is not available at this time, according to the FHP.