Calvin Valentine
MILWAUKEE - A Waukesha County judge sentenced an 18-year-old Chicago man to two years in prison and two years of extended supervision in connection with the February theft of high-end SUVs.
Prosecutors initially charged Calvin Valentine with four felonies. He reached a plea deal in July and was convicted of burglary of a building or dwelling and operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. The other two charges were dismissed.
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Case details
According to a criminal complaint, Waukesha police were dispatched to a car dealership on Moreland Boulevard on Sunday morning, Feb. 18. The operators of the dealership reported multiple vehicles had been stolen.
When officers arrived at the dealership, they spotted broken glass in the parking lot, a garage door that was a quarter of the way open and another garage door that was completely destroyed "as if a vehicle had been driven through it," the complaint said.
Luxury SUVs stolen from Waukesha dealership: surveillance video
Waukesha police released surveillance video of a group of people breaking into a Land Rover dealership and stealing multiple high-end SUVs on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 8.
The general manager of the car dealership shared surveillance video of what happened. That video showed a silver minivan pull up to the garage door on the east side of the building, per the complaint. Approximately nine people – all wearing gloves and masks – got out and pushed the garage door open. The group made their way into the dealership, pried open a lock box, grabbed keys and "then went about finding the vehicles associated with the keys throughout the dealership."
Prosecutors said the group got into a Land Rover Velar and used it "as a battering ram" to drive through the garage door. It caused "substantial" damage to the SUV and the garage door. The group then took a second Land Rover and drove through the same door. The first Land Rover was left behind, and a group drove off in the second. It was found in Chicago later that morning.
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In total, officials said there were nine vehicles that were taken without consent from the Land Rover dealership. Those vehicles include:
- 2021 Land Rover-Range Rover Westminster
- 2023 BMW X5 M50i
- 2021 Jaguar F Type R-Dynamic
- 2023 Range Rover Sport P440
- 2019 Porsche Macan
- 2024 Range Rover Velar (2)
- 2024 Land Rover Discovery Dynamic
- 2020 Land Rover-Range Rover
Officials said the total value of these vehicles was $583,339.
One of the vehicles crashed on I-94 just before WIS165
The day after the vehicle thefts, a detective was alerted that one of the suspects – Valentine – was taken into custody in West Allis. The complaint said he was taken into custody after a police chase and crash involving a 2021 Land Rover-Range Rover Westminster. It was a vehicle valued at $73,998.
In an interview, prosecutors said Valentine told police he was picked up in the Chicago area. He said "his friend gave him a key and he got in the white SUV" that he crashed during the pursuit – and he was just "doing kid's stuff."
Valentine told police he didn't know what people would do with the cars, according to the complaint. He said he did not know where he was going when he was driving and claimed to have never stolen a car before – stating "I'm not gonna lie, I stole the car." He said he took the key off the rack inside the car dealership, but that "he only took one key."