Man Sentenced to Over 1 Year for Selling Stolen Dirt Bike, Possessing Stolen Car, Tampering With VINs Following State Police Investigation

NORFOLK, Va. — Rashane Maleek Antonio Griffith, 26, was sentenced on Friday to serve one year and two months in prison for selling stolen property, among other charges, after he sold a stolen dirt bike to undercover law enforcement officers last year.

In January 2023, a man in Bladen County, North Carolina, reported to the county sheriff’s office that his blue Yamaha dirt bike had been stolen. In September 2023, a Bladen County investigator saw a listing on Facebook Marketplace for the same blue dirt bike available for sale in Norfolk. The investigator contacted Virginia State Police to further assist with their investigation, and VSP agents arranged to purchase the dirt bike on Sept. 15 in an undercover capacity from the seller, whom they later identified as Mr. Griffith.

On Sept. 15, while undercover agents waited at the agreed sale location in a parking lot off Chesapeake Boulevard, they saw Mr. Griffith drive into the parking lot ahead of the agreed sale time in a white Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with temporary North Carolina tags, speak to someone in the parking lot, then drive off. Moments later, Mr. Griffith returned to the parking lot driving the blue dirt bike, and another individual followed in the Challenger and parked nearby. Mr. Griffith then sold the dirt bike to an undercover agent. After the agent verified the partial vehicle information number on the dirt bike (some of it had been sanded off), the agent attempted to place Mr. Griffith under arrest. Mr. Griffith ran off, but he was taken into custody by the VSP Tactical Team after a short foot pursuit. In the meantime, the driver of the Challenger sped off from the parking lot. Mr. Griffith also had a Challenger key fob in his possession when he was searched following his arrest.

For the following week, as Mr. Griffith was held in the Norfolk City Jail, VSP agents continued to investigate the Challenger’s whereabouts. After gathering information from a combination of Mr. Griffith’s jail calls, the Flock license plate recognition system, and Mr. Griffith’s social media accounts, the agents located the Challenger parked at an apartment building in Newport News in the assigned spot of Mr. Griffth’s girlfriend. The agents contacted Mr. Griffith’s girlfriend, she handed over a key fob programmed to the Challenger, and the agents confirmed that the Challenger — like the dirt bike — was stolen and its VIN tampered with. The VIN on the Challenger that was visible to the agents was later determined to have been copied from a different, legally registered car (an organized theft practice known as car “cloning”).

On May 30, Mr. Griffith pleaded guilty as charged to felony sale of stolen property, two counts of felony alteration of vehicle identification numbers, felony receipt of stolen goods, and misdemeanor fleeing from law enforcement. Mr. Griffith pleaded guilty to his charges with the agreement that he would serve one year and two months in prison, with another three years and three months in custody suspended on the conditions that he complete three years of uniform good behavior and pay restitution to the rightful owner of the dirt bike. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Griffith’s plea agreement, and Judge Lindsey sentenced Mr. Griffith on Friday to serve the agreed sentence.

“The Virginia State Police did a fine job in tracking and solving this interstate vehicle-theft crime,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “There are casual car thieves who steal when the opportunity arises, but Mr. Griffith’s crimes were different. Mr. Griffith planned his thefts and was trying to cover up his crimes to make money. We will continue to hold accountable the individuals who drive a disproportionate amount of crime in our city.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James S. Strickland prosecuted Mr. Griffith’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Virginia State Police Special Agents Sean Martin and Christopher Lolos led the investigation.

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