YORK COUNTY, S.C.,None — A father, his teenage son and a friend are charged in a two-state crime spree that deputies said went on for at least 18 months.
York County sheriff's deputies have arrested 18-year-old Shawn Hefner and 29-year-old Thomas Dustin Barr. They are still looking for Hefner's father, 37-year-old Douglas Scott Hefner, or Scottie.
Deputies told Eyewitness News that the trio is responsible for the theft of eight cars and a dozen business break-ins in North and South Carolina since the fall of 2009.
The cars were stolen from North and South Carolina too, and their VIN numbers were altered, investigators said.
Chris Jackson works at Elmer's Used Cars in Fort Mill, where deputies said a Camaro was stolen last month. Eyewitness News showed Jackson a police photo of Shawn Hefner. He said he remembers when Hefner came in to test-drive the car.
"I think he was a little bit young to be looking at a car like that, just to be saying, ‘Oh I just want to drive it.' He never seemed interested in buying it," Jackson said.
Three days later, that car was stolen off the lot. Deputies said other cars were stolen from Charlotte, Lancaster and other cities.
Shelby and Hickory police are also involved in the ongoing investigation. Shelby police said they have linked the trio to break-ins there at Dollar Tree, Radio Shack, Game Stop and two beauty supply stores from May to September of 2010.
Last week, sheriff's deputies said they recovered the stolen cars from Hefner's home on Liberty Hill Road and Barr's home on Woodwind Drive outside of Rock Hill.
Neighbor Chris Rose was home when police cruisers showed up on Woodwind Drive with several flatbed trucks.
"Just about 10 at night and we have all this ruckus with cars being towed away and law enforcement everywhere," he said. "Why watch ‘Cops' when I can walk outside and see it from my front door?"
Across town on Liberty Hill Road, Billy Parris saw sheriff's deputies show up, too.
"I always wondered what was going on over there," he said. "I saw the cars there. One was parked on the side of the house covered up, and there were two more on the other side."
Sheriff's deputies seized more than just cars. They said they also found thousands of dollars worth of stolen TVs, cameras, video games, GPS units and radios.
They said they matched items reported stolen from stores in Shelby and Hickory.
Many of the items were listed for sale on eBay and craigslist. However, some of the property has been returned.
Investigators said they expect to file more charges as information about the crime spree continues to grow. So far, deputies said they've linked the trio to thefts in York, Lancaster, Mecklenburg, Cleveland and Catawba counties.
Both Scottie and Shawn Hefner and Thomas Barr faces dozens of charges.