TULSA, Okla. –
A Tulsa County jury recommends 85 years in prison for a serial car thief, after finding him guilty of running an elaborate multi-state car theft ring.
The jury found Randall Liggins guilty on 32 counts connected to running the car theft ring in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. Prosecutors say Liggins had been running the scheme for years and pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Tulsa Police Auto Theft Unit started investigating Liggins in 2023, and say Liggins had acquired a P.O. Box number where all the salvage titles for the cars were sent to, and that’s what eventually led detectives to Liggins.
How Randall Liggins serial car theft scheme worked:
Tulsa County prosecutors said Liggins would first obtain high-end cars that had been stolen from dealerships in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas or Missouri.
He would then find similar vehicles at salvage yards that had been wrecked and were no longer drivable. Investigators said he would take the vehicle identification number (VIN) from the salvaged vehicle, create a fraudulent VIN label and place it on the stolen car.
“So he would take that VIN number, he had the equipment, we caught him with it, to put it on a sticker, he would remove the windshield from the stolen car, put that false VIN sticker in there with the false VIN number the deliver the car to the very happy customer,” said Assistant Tulsa County District Attorney Dalinda Jeffers.
Prosecutors said the altered vehicles were then sold to unsuspecting buyers.
Authorities said Liggins led officers on two pursuits — one in Tulsa and another in Owasso — as they attempted to arrest him.
He was eventually taken into custody in 2024 while walking out of a pawn shop.
Records show Liggins has several previous felony convictions dating back to 2007.
Why prosecutors say it matters
Prosecutors said the case highlights the impact of property crimes on victims.
“There’s a phrase that gets tossed around down here at the courthouse, not in this office, but by others, oh it is just a property crime. That is so disrespectful to ordinary to Americans who work hard, to have the things they have,” said Jeffers.
What’s next
The jury recommended an 85-year sentence, but a judge will make the final sentencing decision at a later date.
News On 6 has reached out to Liggins’ attorney for comment and has not received a response.
