54-year-old man wanted for multiple car thefts caught after pursuit

A man has been arrested and charged in connection to multiple car thefts from a dealership in Rock Hill, police say.

Jeffery Snipes, 54, was allegedly in a stolen car weaving in and out of traffic before stopping and walking into the woods Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

Channel 9 has learned it’s not the first time he’s been accused of stealing a car.

Rock Hill dealership owner Keith Core says he encountered the same man months ago. Core says Snipes walked onto his car lot in June and asked to test drive a $30,000 Porsche. When the dealer handed him the key, Core says he asked the dealer to go back inside and get him a copy of the Carfax report.

“The salesman came back in to ask me to print it out. I’m watching the car on my camera. I print the Carfax and by the time I hit print I see the car take off up the road,” Core said.

Police found the car that same day.

“He got caught at a QT with my car in Charlotte. What happened was he popped all four tires and was riding on rims and somebody thought it was suspicious and it just so happened there were two cops in the vicinity,” Core said.

Snipes was arrested in Charlotte but for some reason, he was not sent back to Rock Hill to face charges for stealing the Porsche, according to Core.

“You got this insane guy stealing Porches and brand new cars off lots and he’s still walking around,” Core said.

He was also the subject of a citizen’s arrest in June.

Snipes stole a car from a south Charlotte car dealership on June 7, according to court documents.

Dealership workers saw him and the car three days later and bound Snipes’ wrists with zip ties until police arrived.

Snipes is still in the Mecklenburg County jail facing charges including possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

It’s unclear when he could return to York County to face charges.

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