A pair of AirPods helped uncover how a stolen car ended up crushed at a scrapyard in Milwaukee. The revelation led to felony charges against a tow truck driver accused of selling the vehicle for scrap.
The case was first reported by TMJ4 and detailed by reporter Ben Jordan. It has sparked questions about how vehicles can be scrapped with limited proof of ownership and whether state laws should require more documentation before a vehicle is destroyed.
For Teon Thomas, the discovery came too late to save his car. By the time police tracked it down, his gold Volkswagen had already been crushed and added to a pile of scrap metal.
Now, prosecutors say a tow truck driver made money from the sale of a vehicle he had no legal right to sell. Thomas for his part continues to deal with the financial and personal impact of losing his transportation.
Flat Tire Leads To Missing Vehicle
According to TMJ4, Thomas’ ordeal began on May 1 after he struck a pothole in Milwaukee and suffered a flat tire. “My tire came off the rim,” Thomas told the station.
After leaving the vehicle, he returned later that same day and found it gone. He began calling around in an effort to locate it but came up empty.
Hours later, Thomas remembered that he had left a pair of AirPods inside the vehicle. Using the device’s tracking feature, he was able to trace their location to Milwaukee Iron and Metal, a scrapyard located on Green Bay Avenue.
The location data led him to a scene he said was difficult to process. His gold Volkswagen was no longer intact. Instead, it sat crushed among a pile of junked vehicles.
Thomas told TMJ4 that losing the vehicle has affected nearly every part of his daily life. “I can barely get to work. I can barely get around. It’s hard,” he said. He also acknowledged that without the AirPods, the vehicle might never have been found.
“They would have. And probably this deal of a process, high rates of crime, probably been at the bottom of the list,” Thomas said when asked whether police would have located the car without the tracking device.
Investigation Points to Tow Truck Driver
Police launched an investigation after Thomas located the vehicle. According to a criminal complaint cited by TMJ4, investigators identified 30-year-old Derrick D. Hutchins as the person who brought the vehicle to the scrapyard.
The complaint states that Hutchins completed paperwork asserting he had the legal authority to sell the vehicle and presented identification when scrapping it. Court records show the car was destroyed within hours of Thomas realizing it had been stolen.
Investigators also provided Thomas with a surveillance image that allegedly shows the tow truck involved driving away with the vehicle. Police determined that Hutchins sold the Volkswagen for a few hundred dollars before it was crushed.
Hutchins has since been charged with felony theft of movable property. If convicted, he faces up to three and a half years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. TMJ4 reported that no one answered the door when reporters visited Hutchins’ listed address seeking comment.
Scrapyard Followed Existing Procedures
The investigation also examined the role of Milwaukee Iron and Metal. The scrapyard told TMJ4 that it is not required to verify with police whether a vehicle has been reported stolen before accepting it for scrap. Company representatives also noted that there is no statewide database available for such checks.
Police concluded that the scrapyard followed the procedures currently required under existing rules. Milwaukee Iron and Metal later issued a statement saying it maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding criminal activity involving junk and salvage vehicles.
The company said people convicted of crimes involving stolen vehicles are prohibited from doing business with the facility. It confirmed Hutchins is no longer allowed to bring vehicles there.
Calls for Changes To State Law
Note to readers: The video below has playback disabled on external sites by its owner. To watch it, please click the “Watch on YouTube” link or open the video directly on YouTube.
After TMJ4 aired Thomas’ story, several other people contacted the station claiming they experienced similar incidents involving vehicles that ended up at scrapyards. Those accounts have fueled calls for stronger requirements before vehicles can be accepted and destroyed.
Thomas believes sellers should be required to present documentation beyond handwritten forms. “They need to have the title, the key, more documents, legal documents at that. Not just something they can hand write and do themselves and print off,” he told TMJ4.
Thomas said he decided to share his experience publicly because he wanted other vehicle owners to understand where stolen cars can end up and how difficult recovery can become once a vehicle reaches a scrapyard. Hutchins is scheduled to make his first court appearance on June 18, according to court records.
The criminal case moves forward. Thomas hopes the attention generated by his experience will lead lawmakers to examine whether additional safeguards are needed before vehicles can be sold for scrap and destroyed.