Alleged car thief charged after trying to sell it back to owner

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A 20-year-old Memphis man is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $100,000 bond after police say he stole a car and tried to sell it back to its owner.

Marvin Roper is charged with motor vehicle theft, felony vandalism, two counts of evading arrest, possession of machine guns, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, altering/forging vehicle tags, extortion and driving with a suspended license.

Jail records show Roper was arrested Monday. It also appears that he has four active charges against him.

According to the arrest affidavit, a man’s 2017 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack was reported stolen on Thursday, October 3.

Four days later, Roper allegedly tried to get the victim to meet him at Harbor Freight on Summer Avenue to buy the car back for $2,300.

The estimated Kelley Blue Book value of the car is $30,872.

The car’s owner reported it to police, and multiple task forces went undercover and waited outside the store.

Officers watched as the Dodge Challenger pulled into the parking lot, followed by a white Buick Envista, which police said was driven by Roper’s girlfriend.

Investigators saw Roper get out of the stolen car, but MPD says both vehicles then left the parking lot and went to a nearby gas station.

Officers attempted to converge on the parking lot while Roper was inside the gas station.

He allegedly ran from the store and took off in the stolen Challenger as soon as he recognized the blue lights and sirens, leaving his girlfriend behind.

Police say she was detained and questioned, but Shelby County jail records show she was never charged.

MPD says Roper was driving recklessly and dangerously in a high-speed pursuit heading west. Roper was able to get gas at a gas station on South BB King Boulevard before abandoning the car in a nearby neighborhood and fleeing.

While searching the car and the area, officers reportedly found a Glock pistol with a conversion switch, four Glock magazines, two extended Glock magazines, a box of ammunition, a Dodge key fob and several blank bullets.

A fraudulent temporary Tennessee tag was found in the car. Police noted in the affidavit that there were several immediate giveaways that it was a fake.

Police also say $3,700 in damage was caused to the Challenger, which had a broken gear shift and ECM port.

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