The annals of Crazy America are filled with crooks who ought to have chosen a less mentally taxing profession.
Yet this week a Florida man rose way above that bungling pack with the breathtaking folly of his criminal design.
Timothy Wolfe, 50, headed to a car dealership in Lake City on Monday to try to trade his current set of wheels for a new one.
But there was one small problem – he had allegedly stolen the vehicle he wanted to exchange from the very same place just two days before.
Cops responded to Lake City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram on Monday evening following a report of a stolen vehicle, the Lake City Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Employees at the dealership told officers that Wolfe had visited them with the intention of trading his old vehicle for a new one.
However, the suspect’s scheme started to unravel when staff checked the old vehicle’s VIN number and discovered it had been stolen from the dealership just two days before, on September 18.
Wolfe allegedly admitted to the theft after cops advised him of his rights.
A review of security cameras at the dealership also revealed footage of the recent crime occurring, police said.
Wolfe was arrested without incident and taken to the Columbia County Detention Center.
He faces charges for grand theft of a motor vehicle, dealing in stolen property, criminal mischief and petit theft.