FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 18, 2017
Contact: Heather F. Williamson
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
20 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176-2809
(703) 777-0242
SERIAL TIRE AND RIM THIEF FOUND GUILTY
JURY FIXES SENTENCE AT 137 YEARS
LEESBURG, Virginia – July 12, 2017. Following a three-day jury trial, Jason L. Brooks, 38, was found guilty of a series of tire and rim thefts that plagued Loudoun County last year. The jury found Brooks guilty of six counts of grand larceny, six counts of larceny with intent to sell, three counts of destruction of property, and three counts of tampering with an automobile. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Pohlner prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Over the course of 2016, multiple victims in Loudoun County reported their tires and rims stolen off of their trucks and SUVs that had been parked in their driveway overnight. The vehicles had been left sitting on cinder blocks and in several instances investigators found blue fibers from what appeared to be a moving blanket attached to the blocks.
Trial testimony revealed that the break in the case came when law enforcement in New Jersey stopped Brooks as he was driving a white Ford Explorer. In the vehicle were cinder blocks wrapped in a blue moving blanket, a floor jack, and various tools for removing lug nuts. Brooks also had used tape to black out all of the interior lights of the Explorer.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Detectives obtained search warrants for Brooks’ storage unit and apartment. In each location, detectives found bags of lug nuts, lug nut keys, and business cards for “Jay’s Deals on Wheels.” Also found in the storage unit, was personal property belonging to one of the victims. The jury was also shown video from a neighbor’s security camera that showed the thief driving a white Ford Explorer.
Following the guilty verdicts, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Pohlner asked the jury to hand down a sentence that told Brooks “Jay’s Deals on Wheels is hereby shutdown.” The jury returned a verdict fixing Brooks’ sentence at a total of 132 years in prison, 63 months in jail, and $6,000 in fines.
Brooks’ criminal history includes two felony convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, assault, and unlawful imprisonment.
Brooks will return to court on October 18, 2017 for a final sentencing hearing before Judge Stephen E. Sincavage who presided over the trial.
Brooks is also facing charges on identical offenses in New Jersey, Fairfax County, and Prince William County.
#####