‘Bait Car’ Show Stings Police Instead of Car Thief

Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard
LA Times
May 8, 2012

The reality TV show “Bait Car” is supposed to catch car thieves in the act.

Undercover cops park a rigged car on the side of the road, conspicuously leaving the keys inside, while a television crew waits nearby for an unsuspecting passerby to take the bait and steal the car.

But in one recent sting filmed in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the lead detective on the case ended up getting busted instead.

Footage shot for the TruTV program showed 28-year-old Keenan Alex come across a parked, shiny red Cadillac Escalade with the keys in the ignition and the engine running. After he gets inside and drives off, deputies pull him over and cuff him. In court, Det. Anthony Shapiro said under oath that he read Alex each of his Miranda rights from a card in his notebook before the suspect made incriminating statements, a transcript shows.

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This article was posted: Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 10:41 am

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