Suspects may be tied to two other motor home thefts

Two men arrested at a Spokane Valley RV dealership and accused of possessing an expensive stolen motor home are now being tied to the alleged theft and sale of two other expensive coaches.

The three motor homes – reported stolen in Florida and Louisiana – are worth a combined total of $702,000, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Spokane.

The case has triggered a nationwide investigation by the FBI, authorities said Thursday.

The thieves who stole the motor homes were able to re-sell them to unsuspecting dealers by using “cloned” vehicle identification numbers.

Cloned VIN numbers are copied from an actual matching vehicle, then used on the stolen RV, investigators said in court documents.

The theft ring is causing a buzz in the RV industry, investigators say.

Rick Curtis and Leroy Bullinger were arrested by FBI agents and state troopers Monday in Spokane Valley after allegedly attempting to sell a 2005 Mountain Air motor home with a sticker price of $360,000.

Ron Little, who owns RVs Northwest, said he became suspicious after being contacted by two men who were attempting to sell what they described as a 2004 model motor home.

Little, who knew the vehicle really was a 2005 model, contacted WSP investigators who arrested the men in a sting operation.

Investigators initially had difficulty establishing the true names and identities of the suspects.

Curtis was ordered held in jail without bond after a hearing Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Durkin argued that Curtis, who has “used thousands of aliases” and has an extensive criminal record, posed a serious risk of flight. The judge agreed.

The prosecutor also wanted Bullinger held without bond for the same reason, but the judge said he could be released to return to his home in Killeen, Texas, if he posts a $50,000 bond and is subject to electronic home monitoring.

At the hearing, FBI agent Stanley Meador testified that the two suspects currently are being investigated for the theft and sale of a 43-foot motor home stolen from Dixie RV in Hammond, La.

That motor home was sold to another dealer for $180,000.

The suspects are being investigated in connection with the theft in April of a third motor home reported stolen in Florida and later sold for $161,000, the FBI agent said.