One of two men allegedly involved in a scheme involving the theft and resale of high-dollar vehicles throughout Riverside County is slated to ask a judge next week to lower his bail.
Gabriel Dean Watters, 47, of San Diego was arrested and charged last month in connection with a series of heists that also involved 25-year-old Kendall Jamison Clark of Murrieta.
Watters pleaded not guilty Thursday to four counts each of embezzlement, auto theft and receiving stolen property. A Riverside County Superior Court judge scheduled a bail review hearing for Dec. 8 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant’s attorney requested the hearing to argue for a reduced bond requirement. Watters is currently being held on $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Clark pleaded not guilty to more than two dozen theft-related felony counts in October. He is free on a $250,000 bond and scheduled to make another court appearance on Dec. 14.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Watters was identified as an alleged co-conspirator during further investigation by the county’s Auto-Theft Interdiction Detail, a multi-agency task force that focuses on deterring and apprehending car thieves.
Prosecutors allege Clark engaged multiple owners of luxury vehicles countywide, who rented the pricey rides to him and never saw them again.
“When the owners tried to report the vehicles as stolen, they learned their names had been taken off the titles,” according to a D.A.’s office statement.
“Investigators discovered Watters was buying the stolen cars from Clark at prices substantially lower than their real value,” the agency stated. “Watters would meet … Clark at locations throughout Riverside County, pay him for a group of cars and then take the cars to other locations, including Mexico, where he would attempt to sell them again.”
Among the stolen autos: a 2021 Lamborghini Aventador and 2022 Urus, as well as a 2021 Porsche Boxter and a 2022 Tesla Model Y.
Task force personnel caught onto the alleged scheme in September, culminating in Clark’s arrest weeks later.
Court records show Clark has prior convictions for statutory rape and lewd acts.
Watters was taken into custody on Nov. 27 at San Diego International Airport. He has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.