‘In a blink of an eye’: Charlotte man charged with stealing 35 cars

CHARLOTTE — Police say a teenager with a lengthy criminal record is accused of stealing dozens of cars across Charlotte.

Samuel Barnes stole mostly luxury cars over the span of several months, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. He was arrested on Thursday, according to jail records obtained by Channel 9.

SEE MORE: 3 charged in high-end car scheme

The stolen cars that police have tied to Barnes include Infinitis, Camaros and Chargers. Between July and November of last year, Barnes stole more than 30 cars, mostly from apartment and townhome parking lots, according to police records.

One car police said Barnes stole was Brenda Mattison’s silver Infiniti Q50.

The car was stolen from Mattison’s Steele Creek apartment parking lot last year.

“I felt violated,” Mattison said. “You work so hard to have something nice and then, you know, in a blink of an eye, it’s gone.”

About 15 of the stolen cars tied to Barnes were Infinitis. With Barnes being tied to so many victims, Mattison said she hopes Barnes is held accountable for his actions.

“Unfortunately, you did the crime, you have to do the time,” she said.

SEE MORE: South Charlotte woman recovering after being hit by car

Barnes was first arrested in 2022, at the age of 17, in connection to a hit-and-run. He has been arrested four times since then with charges such as eluding arrest, theft of firearms and possession of stolen motor vehicles.

Barnes has also been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy in conjunction with the theft of motor vehicles charges on Thursday. Police records named two other men Barnes conspired with, however, neither of the men have been charged.

(WATCH BELOW: Operation SCARLET: 4 defendants sentenced for multi-state luxury car theft ring)