On 12/30/25 at about 0723 hours, Minneapolis Police responded to a Holiday gas station on a report of a motor vehicle that had just been stolen. The Complainant, IGW, said he parked his 2020 Hyundai Elantra (IN/839CLG) by the store’s front door, left it running, and went inside. While he was inside, someone drove off in his vehicle. The value of the Hyundai exceeded $5,000. On 01/21/2026 at about 0113 hours, St. Paul Police were dispatched to 200 10th St in St. Paul, Ramsey County for a report of several suspicious vehicles with no license plates parked in the area.
Auto thieves commonly remove license plates in order to thwart law enforcement efforts to identify it. When police arrived, one of the suspicious vehicles, a 2020 Hyundai Elantra with no license plates, drove off. Police conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as Loniell THOMAS (aka Lionell THOMPSON) [DOB REDACTED]. THOMAS said he got the vehicle from his cousin who lived nearby and was headed to work. A check of the vehicle’s VIN revealed that it was stolen and should have been displaying IN license plates; 839CLG. During a post-Miranda interview, THOMAS said he bought the Hyundai about a month earlier from “ANGIE” who is a drug addict.
THOMAS said AGNIE told him that the vehicle belonged to her brother who was in treatment. THOMAS said he paid Angie $1,000 for the vehicle which had no license plates and did not have a title. THOMAS agreed that $1,000 was not a reasonable price to pay for the vehicle and admitted that he knew the deal was not on the up and up. According to Carfax.com, the average value of a 2020 Hyundai Elantra is $12,380. For purposes of Rule 6.
