According to Memphis’s News Channel 3, Charles Lanos and Blake Bolton had a near-perfect plan. Bolton had a relative who had recently gotten fired from Enterprise and still had their uniform. A uniform that fit Lanos. That relative could also give them a fake work order, as well as a ride to their local Enterprise location. All they would need to do was blend in with the actual employees, drive one of the cars off the lot, and they’d have a free car.
Believe it or not, it actually worked. Lanos reportedly stole a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee off the lot, drove it down the street, then handed the keys to Bolton. They were in the clear.
Three days later, though, police say they ran out of gas and abandoned the Jeep. But since their plan had worked so well the first time, they decided to try again, this time at a Hertz location.
Instead of getting their hands on a Hertz uniform, though, they went with the old “we’re just here to transfer this car to a different location” routine. But Lanos’s Enterprise uniform and fake paperwork weren’t enough, and one of the Hertz employees refused to let them drive off with a Nissan Altima. As the employee told News Channel 3, once he told Lanos that he wouldn’t be allowed to leave with the car, “he tried to hide his face, got out of the vehicle, and ran.”
Unfortunately for both Lanos and Bolton, they were both caught and arrested. The former was released on a $1,500 bond, while the latter was released on his own recognizance. In addition to the charges he faces for the theft of the Jeep and the attempted theft of the Nissan, Bolton has also been charged with a different theft after he was caught on camera stealing two iPhones.
