November 25, 2019—A Moorhead, Minn., auto repair shop failed to notify the owner that his SUV had been stolen, with someone driving the vehicle 8,000 miles during a several-day joyride, according to Valley News Live.
Brian Gonzalez, 40, of Gardner, N.D., said he took his vehicle to Ace Auto Repair for a variety of work a few weeks ago.
According to authorities, Gonzalez's Ford Explorer was taken by 24-year-old Devin Ludwig who now faces several charges. Police said Ludwig stole Gonzalez's vehicle from Ace Auto Repair and led police on a chase last week near Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
Gonzalez said he wasn't notified by the shop that his vehicle was missing until he got a call from deputies.
Besides driving the SUV thousands of miles, Ludwig is also accused of causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.
“I'm sure I'm looking at about $10,000 to get everything fixed the way it was,” Gonzalez told Valley News Live. “And the car is worth is worth about $3,000 to $6,000.”
Police said Ludwig took the vehicle to Mitchell, S.D. and was even living inside it. Officers stated in an incident report that they found several stolen credit and debit cards.
Ace Auto Repair told police they didn't realize Gonzalez’s vehicle was stolen and the surveillance cameras weren't working, according to an incident report.
Gonzalez said he wants his SUV repaired by the repair shop and Ludwig.
