Hundreds of vehicles stolen by St. Louis criminal enterprise

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS) – The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a multi-state criminal enterprise responsible for the theft of hundreds of vehicles that began way back in 2019.

According to the sheriff’s office, a Spillertown police officer attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation on Thursday, October 31 at 8:18 p.m. It was also discovered that the vehicle had no visible license plate.

The vehicle fled from the officer driving north on Interstate 57, reaching speeds of 125 mph before running out of gas just south of West Frankfort, Illinois.

Armon V. Cameron was taken into custody without further incident and charged with the following:

Aggravated fleeing to avoid
Driving too fast
No valid driver’s license
Disobedient traffic control device
Not a valid registration
Improper lane use

In addition, Cameron was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant in Cook County for auto theft.

Williamson County Sheriff’s Office investigators located the vehicle’s registered owner, a 17-year-old Marion resident, and discovered that Cameron had just purchased the vehicle a few minutes earlier.

A review of that transaction confirmed that the $26,000 bank draft payment method was fraudulent.

During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the St. Louis-based criminal enterprise had been fraudulently acquiring as many as ten vehicles per week across a tri-state region.

Cameron was charged with the following additional charges:

Possession of a stolen vehicle
Conspiracy to commit auto theft
Conspiracy to commit check fraud
Forgery

Cameron was transported to and taken into custody at the Williamson County Jail.

The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to report that the vehicle has been returned undamaged to its rightful owner.

Investigators have confirmed that another car theft that occurred in Williamson County on April 29 is linked to the same criminal enterprise.

During that incident, the same method was used and the suspect presented the victim with a fraudulent check for $75,000. The vehicle was recovered and has since been returned to the owner.

Additional related vehicle theft cases have been identified and are being investigated in at least one surrounding county. More cases are expected.

The sheriff’s office reminds the public that transactions involving large dollar amounts, conducted after business hours, or transactions that seem too good to be true are often scams.

“This first traffic stop, followed by law enforcement efforts in multiple states, disrupted a $26,000,000 annual car theft ring,” said Sheriff Jeff Diederich.

This remains an ongoing investigation.