Joel VanGheluwe is claiming he didn't do it, that he sold the car years ago to someone in Ohio, and that he is at a wedding in Michigan.
The police have yet to release the name of the person they arrested.
Joel VanGeluwe got fingered because someone ran the plate on a faulty database, turned up the name Jerome VanGheluwe (Joel's father) in Michigan, found that Joel was to get the car for this 16th birthday (in 2010 or 11), and concluded Joel was the guy.
They probably ran a vin number based on the plate. The Ohio plates should have been the first clue to do more investigating before putting a name out there. Macomb County is 60-100 miles from the Ohio border. Most Michiganders have either Michigan or Florida plates. The Florida plates would be for snowbirds probably 60+.
Is Ohio a ‘plate to owner’ State or a ‘plate to vehicle’ State? Don’t know about Ohio, but every Canadian Province or Territory is the former, so when the vehicle is sold, the seller keeps the plate, transferring it to their new vehicle or turning it in to the government.
If young Mr. VanGeluwe, the leftist (per his FB page), is at a wedding in MI, he has the opportunity to turn capitalist and sue a large number of people for defamation of character; those who wrongly accuse him of being the Nazi/antifa thug who attacked protesters with his car. He may have a chance to make a great deal of money.