Former Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant recently found himself at the center of a theft ring when he attempted to move his Lamborghini from Colorado to his off-season home.
Bryant, who served on the World Series-winning 2016 team, currently plays for the Colorado Rockies.
Bryant's custom gray 2023 Lamborghini Huracán was picked up at his home in suburban Denver by a transport company on Sept. 29, but it never arrived at Bryant’s Las Vegas residence, police in the suburb of Cherry Hills Village said. The car is valued at more than $300,000.
“You see this stuff in movies… You never think you're gonna have a case that is that elaborate and takes multiple agencies to coordinate,” officer Justin Smith, one of the detectives who worked on the case, told KUSA, the NBC affiliate in Denver.
Police determined, through an investigation, that the transport company’s email system had been hacked, allowing the suspect to reroute the car to an unauthorized location.
Using a license plate recognition system, Cherry Hills Village detectives tracked the Lamborghini to Las Vegas, where it was seen traveling on the city’s east side. Police in the Denver suburb contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, whose officers apprehended the driver.
Police records obtained by the Denver Gazette show the driver is a mechanic, who provided a crucial lead. The mechanic said the Lamborghini was dropped off by 58-year-old Dat Viet Tieu, a man based in Texas.
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Tieu was arrested as he departed a plane from Houston to Las Vegas.
The investigation revealed Tieu was part of a larger luxury vehicle theft operation with multiple suspects. Police recovered several stolen vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Yukon Denali, and a Jeep Wrangler, in addition to Bryant’s Lamborghini.
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Bryant’s car was returned to him just five days after contacting Cherry Hills Village police. Detectives said Bryant and his wife were thrilled to get the vehicle back. They also noted another vehicle linked to a Texas Rangers player was also recovered during the investigation.
“This was the most elaborate case we've been a part of,” Smith said. “The collaboration between VIPER [the LVMPD’s Auto Theft Task Force], Homeland Security, and the Denver FBI office was huge. That was a huge part in the success that we had.”
The suspect, Tieu, faces two felony charges for possessing and transferring stolen vehicles.
