Thieves leave San Antonio woman stranded for 5 hours after license plate switch

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio woman hopes her story will warn others to pay closer attention to their vehicle’s license plates after being stranded for five hours when police stopped her for having a stolen license plate.

Courtney Wingo was on a road trip just entering Louisiana when she saw the police lights flashing behind her.

She said she stopped and prepared to present her license and registration, but something was off about this traffic stop.

“Then he gets on a speaker and says, ‘Driver, I need you to step out of the vehicle.’ And I was very confused,” Wingo said. “He gets out of his car, and he’s like, You do know this plate is registered as stolen, right? And I immediately start freaking out because it’s like, ‘No, I don’t know.’”

Police confiscated the plates, and her car was towed. She spent the next five hours figuring out how to get back on the road.

“I really don’t want anybody else to have to go through that because it’s scary. It’s terrifying, you know, especially when you’re so far from home,” Wingo said.

San Antonio Police Sgt. Washington Moscoso says thieves often find the plates from the same make and model vehicle they’re trying to conceal to make it harder to detect.

Moscoso said most screws on license plates are Phillips heads or flatheads and are very easy to take off.

“The anti-theft license plate screws is one extra step that a thief is going to have to overcome,” Moscoso said.

He said this type of switcheroo license plate crime isn’t new, but it is frustrating for victims when it’s discovered.

Moscoso suggests people make it a habit to walk around their vehicles to check tires and plates.

Wingo said it cost her $300 to get her car out of the tow yard, plus the cost to get a temporary one, and she still has a court citation for which she’ll likely have to hire an attorney.

“Some of the most important life lessons you learned are some of the most expensive. And this is definitely one of them. 100%,” she said.


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