MagicMtnDan
04-10-2006, 06:17 AM
LOS ANGELES - A Swede believed to have walked away from a crash that destroyed a $1 million Ferrari Enzo in Malibu earlier this year was arrested Sunday on suspicion of stealing the vehicle and two other exotic cars. Feb. 23 Images
Stefan Eriksson, 44, was arrested at his Bel Air home in the 2300 block of Worthing Lane after detectives served a search warrant, said Sgt. Don Manumaleuna of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told The Los Angeles Times that during the search, detectives seized a black Ferrari Enzo worth more than $1 million.
Two weeks ago, Los Angeles police seized a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a $600,000 car that was reported stolen to London's Scotland Yard. It was being driven by Eriksson's wife, who was stopped in Beverly Hills on suspicion of driving without a license.
"This is the beginning of the investigation," Whitmore told The Times. "All three cars have now been confiscated."
The cars were part of Eriksson's $3.5 million exotic car collection, The Times reported.
Eriksson was formerly an executive with Gizmondo Europe, a company that made video game players, but he was forced out after colleagues learned he had a conviction for fraud in Sweden. The company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Swedish authorities have told the sheriff's department that Eriksson served a prison term in the early 1990s for counterfeiting.
Eriksson is believed to have brought the three cars into this country from Britain, where he lived last year. The cars were leased to Gizmondo, and British financial institutions are claiming them because payments have lapsed.
Eriksson was booked on suspicion of grand theft auto and is being held without bail, Manumaleuna said, adding an immigration hold was placed on him.
After the Feb. 21 crash on Pacific Coast Highway near Decker Road, Eriksson told sheriff's deputies that he wasn't driving. He said a German named Dietrich was behind the wheel and ran from the scene of crash, which separated the Ferrari's 12-cylinder, 660-horsepower engine from its frame.
Authorities believe the car -- one of only 400 Enzos ever built -- was going 162 mph when it smashed into a power pole, and they have expressed doubt about Eriksson's account of how the accident occurred.
Eriksson's blood-alcohol level at the time showed him to be above the legal limit for driving in California, so he could face drunken-driving charges if determined to have been the driver.
Ferrari aficionados are reportedly hopeful the episode might finally be over.
"The Ferrari community is very upstanding and a very serious group of people," Gil Lucero, Pacific region president of the Ferrari Club of America, told The Los Angeles Times. "It's unfortunate that folks with more money than sense get into these things."
Stefan Eriksson, 44, was arrested at his Bel Air home in the 2300 block of Worthing Lane after detectives served a search warrant, said Sgt. Don Manumaleuna of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told The Los Angeles Times that during the search, detectives seized a black Ferrari Enzo worth more than $1 million.
Two weeks ago, Los Angeles police seized a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a $600,000 car that was reported stolen to London's Scotland Yard. It was being driven by Eriksson's wife, who was stopped in Beverly Hills on suspicion of driving without a license.
"This is the beginning of the investigation," Whitmore told The Times. "All three cars have now been confiscated."
The cars were part of Eriksson's $3.5 million exotic car collection, The Times reported.
Eriksson was formerly an executive with Gizmondo Europe, a company that made video game players, but he was forced out after colleagues learned he had a conviction for fraud in Sweden. The company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Swedish authorities have told the sheriff's department that Eriksson served a prison term in the early 1990s for counterfeiting.
Eriksson is believed to have brought the three cars into this country from Britain, where he lived last year. The cars were leased to Gizmondo, and British financial institutions are claiming them because payments have lapsed.
Eriksson was booked on suspicion of grand theft auto and is being held without bail, Manumaleuna said, adding an immigration hold was placed on him.
After the Feb. 21 crash on Pacific Coast Highway near Decker Road, Eriksson told sheriff's deputies that he wasn't driving. He said a German named Dietrich was behind the wheel and ran from the scene of crash, which separated the Ferrari's 12-cylinder, 660-horsepower engine from its frame.
Authorities believe the car -- one of only 400 Enzos ever built -- was going 162 mph when it smashed into a power pole, and they have expressed doubt about Eriksson's account of how the accident occurred.
Eriksson's blood-alcohol level at the time showed him to be above the legal limit for driving in California, so he could face drunken-driving charges if determined to have been the driver.
Ferrari aficionados are reportedly hopeful the episode might finally be over.
"The Ferrari community is very upstanding and a very serious group of people," Gil Lucero, Pacific region president of the Ferrari Club of America, told The Los Angeles Times. "It's unfortunate that folks with more money than sense get into these things."