Jamale Marquise Porch
Police said an East Chattanooga man wrecked several vehicles in the process of stealing an expensive GMC truck from Integrity Buick on International Drive.
Jamale Marquise Porch, 31, of Stuart Street, is charged with theft over $60,000, theft of identity, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and possessing a firearm with intent to go armed.
In the incident on Memorial Day, police were notified that a person was stealing a vehicle and, in the process of getting away, hit several other vehicles.
Police were told the person came to the dealership in a gold Lexus SUV and walked in to do a test drive on a GMC truck. The person passed the ID of Ms. Shirley Porch to the salesperson for the test drive. The sales team said they could not tell if the individual was a man or a woman due to having a mask over the face.
The person was heavyset and was wearing blue pants, a black LS shirt and a tie dye bandanna around the head.
While a salesperson was making a copy of the ID, the individual grabbed the keys off the desk and ran out to the GMC truck. He retrieved a black backpack from the Lexus SUV before starting out in the truck.
Several people from the dealership tried to stop the person from leaving, including parking behind him. He rammed the vehicle behind him and went out over a curb. He hit 2 other dealership vehicles and a customer's vehicle while making the getaway.
The dealership was able to get Onstar to track the vehicle. It showed it to be at 5952 Brainerd Road behind Cube Smart storage. The vehicle was found there along with the mask and bandanna. The backpack was nearby under a red Jeep. It contained medication for Jamale Porch and the license plate of the Lexus that had been left at the dealership.
The staff at Hooters restaurant told police that a man came in from the direction of Cube Smart and was out of breath. He was given some water and a white T-shirt. Police had spotted a man wearing a white T-shirt walking west on Brainerd Road, but at the time were looking for a person wearing a black shirt.
At Stuart Street, the father of the defendant said it was his son driving the gold Lexus SUV and that his wife Shirley Porch was at work. He said his son had stolen a vehicle several weeks earlier from Marshall Mize Ford on E. 23rd Street and was on probation for that.