18-year-old Maryland man charged as third suspect in April burglary of Gettysburg auto dealership

Police identified and charged a third suspect believed to be involved in a theft from a car dealership in April, according to court records.

Jose Garcia-Lopez, 18, of Severna Park, MD., faces charges of burglary, theft and criminal mischief in connection with the theft of two vehicles from Renn Kirby Chevrolet’s showroom in Straban County on April 26, 2024, according to the court. Documents submitted on Thursday, November 21, 2024.

Garcia-Lopez is the third defendant to be charged in connection with the burglary, joining Jefferson Ventura, 18, and London Flores, 19, of Silver Spring, Maryland, who faced similar charges on July 23, 2024.

It was previously reported: Two men charged in connection with theft from Adams County car dealership

Flores, Ventura and Lopez were allegedly involved in the theft of a silver 2024 Chevrolet Corvette valued at $88,640 and a yellow 2018 ZL1 Convertible Chevrolet Camaro valued at $58,500, according to probable cause affidavits.

The affidavit states that around 12:06 a.m. on April 26, 2024, three suspects in a dark blue Dodge Challenger Hellcat drove into the parking lot of Renn Kirby Chevrolet on Expedition Trail in Straban Township, just outside Gettysburg.

At the time of the charges in July, Garcia-Lopez had not yet been identified and was named as the “third unidentified defendant.” The affidavit against Lopez now alleges that he was the backseat passenger of the Dodge Challenger when the trio arrived.

Garcia-Lopez was identified through cell phone search warrants, according to the affidavit against him.

Garcia-Lopez’s phone was first identified at the site of the Howard County robbery and was later determined to be present at the time of the Gettysburg robbery through a “tower evacuation warrant,” the affidavit states.

On August 8, 2024, Pennsylvania State Police obtained data from Ventura’s cell phone, an affidavit against Lopez states, which found messages between Ventura, Garcia-Lopez, and Flores.

Ventura and Flores were extradited from Maryland after the duo was taken into custody in Montgomery County and remain confined in the Adams County Jail.

Garcia-Lopez was indicted in Maryland on charges related to a carjacking in Howard County and was released on bail on November 4, 2024.

Garcia-Lopez has not yet been arraigned on the Pennsylvania charges, according to court records.

This article was first published in the Hanover Evening Sun: Police charge third suspect in April burglary of Gettysburg dealership