Texas auto theft: Video shows evidence of Ansel Pennygraph's role in organized crime ring that steals car wheels for resale

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in an organized crime ring that steals wheels off of cars statewide and resells them.

Ansel Pennygraph, 42, was found guilty by a jury in Harris County after a two-week trial.

The prosecutor on the case, William Cowardin, said they have linked about 30 people to the crew, but only four are charged.

"You look at businesses, nonprofits, and by organizing, they can have a greater impact on their community," Cowardin said. "Crime is no different."

The group had a system down, according to Cowardin, that was refined over the years. They would scout out parking lots with high concentrations of cars, like apartment complexes, and steal their wheels.

Stolen wheels were taken to a warehouse in the 9000 block of Sweetwater Lane, near West Gulf Bank and the North Freeway. Surveillance video used as evidence in court shows Pennygraph back a white Dodge Caravan up to the rolling door and unloading several wheels.

Hours later, a white truck with a buyer inside showed up and purchased some of the stolen goods, according to Cowardin.

Cowardin said during a search of Pennygraph's phone, they identified at least seven regular buyers. One, he said, was a legitimate business.

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"We, in law enforcement, had some concern that it was creating its own market," Cowardin explained. "There are so many people whose wheels and tires are being stolen that they're then buying them back unwittingly, or you know your neighbor's Corolla gets boosted, and so does yours. You end up buying your neighbor's wheels, or they buy yours. In the end, the users are probably the same people who are getting victimized."

During the execution of a search warrant at the Sweetwater location, police took photos that show tools and a jack inside the white Dodge Caravan that Pennygraph drove.

"Big giant jack and bolt cutters and ski masks and you know breaker bars, lug nuts, box sets, things that you can use to defeat security devices," Cowardin described.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors proved about $191,000 worth of wheel thefts, but they believe there has been far more.

Proving cases of wheel theft is complicated, according to Cowardin, because wheels do not have serial numbers, and it is challenging to link them to a victim.

Pennygraph operated from 2016 until the beginning of 2023, until a judge denied his bond, and he was held in jail.

Throughout the seven-year period, court records show he was arrested more than a dozen times. The thefts continued once he was released on bond, according to Cowardin.

The prosecutor collected evidence that showed Pennygraph was shot in the head during a theft and went to the hospital in the white Dodge van. He said the man was back out stealing about a month later.

He also said Pennygraph was involved with several law enforcement pursuits.

Video from a Houston police helicopter in 2016 shows a heat map that helped police locate the man in someone's backyard.

Police body camera footage from January of 2023 shows the end of one of the chases, where officers found several wheels in the back of the white Dodge Caravan.

"Property crimes, they're not always considered serious but over time, with repetition, an indication that someone is not going to stop, it becomes very serious," Cowardin explained.

He said it only takes one time for a police pursuit to go badly and have far-reaching consequences.

"One of the deputies testified that he - it was amazing how well he remembered that specific pursuit - because he said he had never seen a van go that fast," Cowardin said. "(Pennygraph) was operating this white Dodge Caravan and going the wrong way down a feeder road at over 100 miles per hour."

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