An unrepentant confessed car thief claims that his auto theft days are over. But, it was a Lamborghini that caught his eye Sunday morning and a potential joy ride and chop-shop prize he says he just couldn't resist.
"My homeboy, he had got the keys," Dez Montayevian Bell, 19, said from behind bars at the Dallas County Jail. "I didn't really want to do it. But I was like [expletive] it's a Lamborghini. So we just took it."
Bell admitted to WFAA that he and his friend William Caston, 18, went to the downtown Omni Hotel Sunday morning, temporarily blinded a valet by spraying him or her with a fire extinguisher, then grabbed the keys to a $300,000 Lamborghini Huracan and raced away down South Lamar.
They made it about seven miles before they were found by a Dallas County Sheriff's Department helicopter and made it about six miles more to the Interstate 20 / Interstate 45 interchange, where a front tire exploded and a front fender ripped away.
Police believe the damage that stalled the sports car was the result of Bell and Caston not knowing how to drive a dual clutch, 7-speed, 10-cylinder, 600 horsepower car.
"If it wasn't for the tire that popped and the bumper [expletive] up, they wouldn't have been able to catch me," Bell said.
So, there's the confession. Now the search for remorse. But there was none to be found.
"I mean come on now, it's a Lamborghini. Everybody want one of those. And plus I needed money. So I was gonna sell it," Bell said. "I had a chop shop already lined up. Dude said he was gonna give me over 10-bandz [$10,000] for the car. So it was already in line."
"So it doesn't bother you to take somebody else’s car," we asked of the luxury sports car registered to a Houston-area businessman.
"What for? It's just a car," he answered. "A car is a car. They paid for it. Who gives a [expletive]. There wasn't no reason. I was just trying to make money. How everybody else make it out here, you make money. So I was gonna make some money."
So, no remorse, but we did get a partial promise. Bell says his car theft days are over.
"By the time I get out of here I won't be taking cars no more. That was just a one-time thing. Plus it was a Lamborghini. So I took it."
And he'll have time to think about that promise Auto theft in Texas is considered a state felony, with a conviction punishable by six months to two years in jail.
But, when the value of the automobile exceeds $30,000, it can be considered a third degree felony. That conviction could mean anywhere from six months to 10 years in state prison, plus a $10,000 fine.