I-Team: Vehicles Stolen Off North Texas Carvana Lot Leads To Feud Between Company And Police, Plus 716 Citations

BLUE MOUND, Texas (CBSDFW.COM)  – Numerous reports of stolen vehicles have caused a feud between a small North Texas police department and the giant online car retailer, Carvana.

In the past three years, more than 100 vehicles have been reported stolen off Carvana's inventory lot in the Fort Worth suburb of Blue Mound.

"My concern is that the people driving erratically in these stolen vehicles out of the lot will run over one of the Carvana employees, will wreck into a civilian, or will crash into us," explained Blue Mound Police Chief Dusty Steele.

When questioned by police after being arrested for vehicle theft, according to police records, one suspect told officers he had heard how easy it was to steal vehicles from Carvana's Blue Mound facility.

"It was just too easy to not to try," he told police.

Steele said he tried working with Carvana on ways the company could better secure its vehicles but said his recommendations were not taken.

"It got to where we would argue back and forth," said Blue Mound Police Chief Dusty Steele. "We are a small department. We have one detective and she's been absolutely overwhelmed with these Carvana cases."

Steele said prior to Carvana opening its Blue Mound facility in 2017, his small Texas city averaged less than six reported vehicle thefts a year.

He said Carvana often reported that many in a week.

"Multiple vehicles on a weekly basis - it would just continue to happen that their vehicles would be stolen," Steele said.

A Carvana spokesperson told the CBS 11 I-Team the security concerns have been resolved.

The company has not reported a vehicle theft from its Blue Mound facility in more than nine months.

"Carvana and the City of Blue Mound share the same goal that the vehicles being inspected and reconditioned at the facility are secure. We're proud to report that they are," the company spokesperson said.

However, the police chief is not convinced.

"They stopped reporting stolen vehicles but I'm not sure the problem has been fixed," Chief Steele said.

In January 2021, the feud reached a boiling point when the City of Blue Mound passed an ordinance prohibiting sellers of vehicles from leaving vehicles unsecured.

The ordinance was in direct repose to the concerns the police department had with Carvana's lot.

Despite the new ordinance, reports of stolen vehicles off the Carvana lot continued.

So, in March 2021, Blue Mound police officers went onto Carvana's lot and wrote 716 citations to the car retailer's senior security official for violating the new city ordinance.

On the day the citations were written, the Carvana senior security official can be heard on police body camera video telling Steele, "I think the way you're handling this, Chief, is quite frankly a little ridiculous."

The body camera video was obtained by the CBS 11 I-Team through an open records request.

The Carvana senior security officials told Steele if Carvana followed the new city ordinance, it could not operate its business as efficiently.

"Our labor rates would go through the roof. We would not be able to have the cars ready for our customers," the Carvana official explained to police officers on the body camera video.

Ever since the citations were written, Carvana has not reported any more vehicle thefts.

"This record of success speaks to Carvana's commitment to safety and quality of life, and to our desire to be a valued corporate citizen and partner with the City of Blue Mound," a company spokesperson told CBS 11 News in a statement.

Carvana officials said the company has taken several steps to enhance security at the Blue Mound inventory lot including improvements to the lots' gates and fence.

Carvana did not comment on the citations as well as the city's new ordinance.

According to the city officials, Carvana's legal team has asked for a jury trial for each of the 716 citations.