A Baxter County man is facing theft charges after renting a car, reporting it stolen and then attempting to trade it.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a theft report was filed with the Mountain Home Police Department on March 17 after the victim attempted to register the vehicle and found it was stolen out of Missouri.
The victim stated on Feb. 23 he agreed to trade his current vehicle to 29-year-old Dale Louis Groth in exchange for a 2022 Dodge Challenger.
Groth advised the victim he was the owner of the vehicle but there was damage to it and it had a salvaged title. Groth allegedly never provided the victim with the title and then blocked him on all social media outlets and did not respond to phone calls or text messages.
The victim then attempted to register the vehicle in Mountain Home and discovered it had been entered as stolen out of Monette, Mo.
The responding officer made contact with the Monett Police Department who reported the Challenger was a rental car and Groth reported it stolen on Feb. 25.
Groth was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center, and released the same day on a $20,000 bond.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI