A Car’s Fake Identity Unravels on PCH

A traffic stop in Malibu last week revealed an unusual crime.

Holly Bieler · August 12, 2026 · Malibu

The traffic stop [began routinely.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baetGrRnfzk&t=4210s) Hidden on the shoulder of PCH near Carbon Beach one warm afternoon last month, a Lost Hills officer clocked a sedan driving southward at 80 mph. The driver was weaving through lanes, impatient. Not uncommon for this stretch of PCH, unfortunately.

If the driver had all his papers in order, current drivers license and registration, insurance, no prior speeding offenses, the officer would let him off with a warning. This appeared to be the way the traffic stop was going. Until the officer took a longer look at the man’s registration.

At quick glance, everything appeared to be in order. The registration was for a blue Dodge Charger, South Dakota plates, the car the officer was looking at before him.

There was something off, though. The registration was for a 2012 Charger. This one looked brand new.

Suspicious, the officer took the driver into custody for reckless driving. Later that week, county auto-theft detectives were later able to confirm the deputy’s hunch.

The Charger was actually a 2020 model, detectives discovered, stolen in Bakersfield more than two years ago. Its registration, however, was for a 2012 Charger, a salvage vehicle deemed inoperable years before.

Detectives were able to piece together the car thief’s enterprising scheme; after stealing the 2020 Charger from Bakersfield, the man had purchased a totaled Dodge Charger on Facebook Marketplace, registered it, and transferred the VIN and registration to the stolen car. The man registered the car in South Dakota, one of the states which does not inspect vehicles before issuing plates.

“They couldn’t escape us on PCH,” Sutherland said.