A 25-year-old Detroit man will spend at least five years in prison after Birmingham police helped dismantle a luxury auto theft ring that stole more than 400 vehicles worth $8 million across southeastern Michigan.
Judge Cheryl A. Matthews of the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County sentenced Caesar Cooper on Tuesday, Aug. 11, to 5 to 20 years on one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, according to CBS News Detroit. Cooper had been charged in November 2025 with conducting a criminal enterprise and two counts of receiving and concealing stolen property.
Cooper's sentencing brings the total to 15 defendants sentenced since 2024 for their roles in the network.
The Troy Police Department launched the investigation in August 2023 and partnered with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's FORCE Team in early 2024. The AG's office announced the probe in May 2024, identifying Birmingham police among multiple local departments that contributed to the effort.
The criminal ring targeted new vehicle storage lots at manufacturing facilities, car dealerships, parking lots and individual residences across Oakland County communities. Authorities allege Cooper was responsible for multiple thefts from 2023 to 2025, including a 2023 Lincoln Navigator, a Maserati Levante, a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2023 Cadillac Escalade and a 2023 Dodge Durango. Stolen vehicles were sold far below market value on the black market.
"These thefts devastate victims and harm our local businesses, and we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute the criminal networks that threaten the safety and economic well-being of our communities," Nessel said in a July 27, 2026, statement announcing the sentencing of another defendant in the same ring.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said in a May 5, 2026, post on X that its Auto Theft Unit and Southfield partners had "made significant strides in recovering stolen vehicles," urging residents to lock cars and remove key fobs.
The sentencing landed the same day Birmingham swore in its new police chief, who takes over a department that also ramped up downtown patrols following an Aug. 9 brawl near Sidecar Slider Bar. The auto theft investigation predates those downtown safety concerns and represents a separate, longer-running public safety effort.
Birmingham's specific role in the multi-agency case has not been detailed publicly. Troy PD led the investigation, with the AG's FORCE Team coordinating prosecution across jurisdictions.
