DETROIT – A Detroit woman called the teenager who stole her car “the dumbest criminal of all” after she spent three days tracking him down and then physically confronted him inside a business.
The white Mercedez-Benz that Bianca Chambers drives and shares with her boyfriend was stolen earlier this week, and she was determined to track it down.
Chambers said the car was stolen Monday (July 12) from the shops at Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. She decided to track down the person responsible.
“You’re the dumbest criminal of all,” Chambers said. “I’m the wrong one. Cops going to find you. You’re a thief -- a thief.”
First, Chambers put an alert about the stolen car on Facebook and Instagram. The posts lit up Monday, with people reporting that they had seen the Mercedez-Benz near Grand River Avenue and Greenfield Road.
“Eight Mile and Greenfield, I see him,” Chambers said. “I said, ‘Oh my God, this is my car.’”
She said the driver sped away.
On Tuesday, the car was seen again, this time parked near Taste of Honey Boutique on Greenfield Road -- the business Chambers owns. Two people were sitting inside the car, officials said.
Chambers reported the stolen car to police.
On Wednesday, the car was spotted outside a hair salon. The teenager was inside the business, and Chambers walked right up to him.
“Excuse me, you got that Benz out there?” she asked in a recording of the confrontation. “Yes you do.”
The ensuing physical altercation is difficult to follow in the video, but Chambers can be heard accusing the teenager of taking the car.
“I feel like he needed an old-fashioned a-- whooping because you’re going to stop stealing people’s cars,” Chambers said.
She said before she went inside the business to confront the teen, she slashed all four tires on the Mercedez-Benz to make sure nobody could drive it away.
“I need to slash all four,” she said. “I didn’t want you to think that you were about to get anywhere far. Today was just the last straw. I just was not -- I refuse to let this man joyride another day in my car. You will never steal from me again.”
Chambers said she continued to investigate afterward to find out more about the teenager. She said she found an article on ClickOnDetroit about him stealing a different car in Northville.
Chambers admitted she put hands on the teenager during their altercation. Police were called, but the person they’re holding said he doesn’t want to press charges against her for the physical confrontation, according to authorities.
That person is being held on the accusation of receiving stolen property, police said.
