Credit: Horsham Police Department.
James Nathanial Goode, 46, of the 400 block of Cosgrove Street in Philadelphia, is facing a felony charge stemming from a traffic stop in Horsham Township, according to police.
A Horsham Township Police Department officer was on patrol in Horsham Township on May 17 around 12:42 p.m. when it observed a black Cadillac Escalade exit the parking lot of the Comfort Inn and travel eastbound on Easton Road.
The vehicle displayed fraudulent Delaware temporary registration, which spurred the officer to conduct a traffic stop, according to police.
The officer approached the male in the car, later identified as Goode, and informed him that he knew his registration was fraudulent, according to police.
When the officer asked Goode to produce any documentation proving he owned the car, Goode was only able to provide a hand written note. Goode provided the officer with the window sticker from the car dealership, however, the VIN number section was removed.
The Horsham officer ran the registration through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and Carfax for police records, but neither turned up any results, according to police.
According to records, the police officer believed this vehicle may have been part of a "VIN swap," a common tactic used to conceal the identity of stolen vehicles, due to the fraudulent tag, lack of ownership documentation, and the absence of any record of the vehicle in both NCIC and Carfax.
Further investigation from police officers utilizing an OBD2 Scanner revealed the actual VIN was located on a sticker under the hood, which traced the car back to being reported as stolen out of Florida.
Horsham Police verified with Lee County Sheriff's Office in Florida that the vehicle was in active stolen status.
Goode was taken into custody and faces a felony charge of receiving stolen property.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
