SEATTLE — An 18-year-old suspected of stealing over a dozen cars, a majority of those being Kias and Hyundais, appeared before a King County judge on Monday facing eight charges of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Police were able to link the suspect, identified as Saylen Oscar Kelly in court documents, to the car thefts after discovering that he had posted several of the stolen cars on his social media account.
A self-proclaimed "Kia Boy," Kelly is accused of stealing 13 vehicles within a little over two months, at least four of which were later used in attempted thefts or robberies in Seattle. Eight of those cars were recovered within 1,000 feet of where Kelly lives.
Kelly's fingerprints matched one left on a stolen Hyundai Elantra that was taken out of Normandy Park and recovered in the South Park neighborhood in late November. After a search of social media, a Seattle Police Department detective discovered an account appearing to belong to the suspect that had posted a picture showing off the exposed ignition of a vehicle that was reported stolen.
In early December, a man reported that his 2019 Kia Forte was stolen near Wallingford. The car was recovered two days later from the South Park neighborhood. After a review of Kelly's social media, investigators discovered a picture posted to his account that showed a distinct break in the plastic of the exposed ignition components of a car, which was identical to the damage they discovered on the stolen Kia Forte. "It is highly improbable, if not impossible, that two breaks in two different pieces of plastic will appear exactly the same," court documents read.
A third vehicle was reported stolen on Dec. 22 out of Ballard. The Instagram account belonging to Kelly posted a video of that same car, with the license plate clearly visible, posted the night before. That car was recovered from the same exact spot as the Hyundai Elantra.
After a tip from a community member about stolen Kias and Hyundais regularly appearing in a particular area of South Park, Seattle police set up surveillance at that location. Kelly was witnessed entering multiple different cars that had been reported stolen over a period of a few weeks.
On Jan. 4, a judge granted a warrant to search Kelly's home for evidence. When police arrived at the home, they arrested Kelly after he was spotted jumping out of a window and attempting to run. Police recovered clothing Kelly was believed to be wearing during the commission of multiple different crimes, a firearm and several keys to Kia vehicles.
A warrant for access to Kelly's Instagram account revealed that he frequently bragged about stealing Kia and Hyundais and offered to help others steal the vehicles. He described overcoming safeguards like steering wheel locks and removing Apple Air Tags from vehicles.
After his arrest, Kelly made a jail call to an "associate" known to detectives saying that he had been arrested for eight car thefts. He told the person he would have to "check my discovery and see if somebody snitched."
Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment hearing on Monday. He was previously ordered to be held on $100,000 bail.