They say the wheels of justice turn slowly and that’s certainly true in the case of the Deedsmobile that was stolen last November.

Finally, the alleged thief is in custody and awaiting trial.

In late 2021, the Rhino Times ran a story (“Cheech And Chong Abandon Stolen Deedsmobile”) about a marijuana-using thief caught on a Ring Doorbell camera who stole the Kia Sportage SUV owned by Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen.

In early December, the stolen vehicle was recovered in fine working order, and now, more than half a year later, a young man has been arrested for the crime as well as for what’s thought to be a string of other car thefts he is said to have committed.

Thigpen’s car was stolen in mid-November of last year at  3:30 a.m. It was parked in his driveway at his northwest Greensboro home and Thigpen had accidentally left the keys in the unlocked vehicle.

The stolen SUV was later found parked at an apartment complex near Western Guilford High School (pictured above).  Several other stolen cars were also parked nearby and recovered.

This week, Thigpen said that police had contacted him and told him that a suspect had been arrested for that theft and for several other auto thefts.

Thigpen said the thief was apparently interested in stealing cars but not much else.

“The funny thing is that the car was loaded with stuff,” Thigpen said, adding that the thief left a virtual treasure trove of goodies in the SUV. The register of deeds said there were gift cards and a host of other valuables in the Kia.

Thigpen also said that, apparently, someone else got in the car with the thief for a joyride that morning.  Not far from Thigpen’s home, some schoolbooks and a set of golf clubs that were in the vehicle were tossed out – evidently, Thigpen said, to make room for a passenger.

The joyriding culprits not only didn’t rob the car. They even left something extra behind – a partially smoked marijuana joint.

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