A Loudoun County jury has recommended a 38-year-old man who stole multiple tires and rims across the county be sentenced to 132 years in prison, 63 months in jail and ordered to pay $6,000 in fines, according to the Office of the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Jason L. Brooks was found guilty last week in a series of tire and rim thefts that occurred last year. The jury found Brooks guilty of six counts of grand larceny, six counts of larceny with intent to sell, three counts of destruction of property and three counts of tampering with an automobile.
Over the course of 2016, multiple victims in Loudoun County reported their tires and rims stolen off trucks and SUVs parked in their driveway overnight. The vehicles had been left sitting on cinder blocks. In several instances investigators found blue fibers from what appeared to be a moving blanket attached to the blocks.
The break in the case came after law enforcement in New Jersey stopped Brooks as he was driving a white Ford Explorer. In the vehicle were cinder blocks wrapped in a blue moving blanket, a floor jack and various tools for removing lug nuts.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office detectives obtained search warrants for Brooks’ storage unit and apartment where detectives found bags of lug nuts, lug nut keys and business cards for “Jay’s Deals on Wheels.” Also found in the storage unit was personal property belonging to one of the victims. The jury was also shown video from a neighbor’s security camera showing the thief driving a white Ford Explorer.
Brooks’ criminal history includes two felony convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, assault and unlawful imprisonment.
He will return to court Oct. 18 for a final sentencing hearing before Judge Stephen E. Sincavage, who presided over the trial.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Pohlner prosecuted the case for the local office.
Brooks is also facing charges on identical offenses in New Jersey, Fairfax County, and Prince William County.
Source: http://www.loudountimes.com