The defendant told police he bought the car for $800 in October 2024, but had no title to prove it
A Philadelphia man has received probation after admitting to driving a stolen Porsche from Delaware, stemming from an arrest by Montgomery Township Police in December 2024.
Eliezer Alejandro Cruz, 31, of the 700 block of East Wyoming Avenue, pleaded guilty to felony receiving stolen property in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court March 13, according to court records.
Common Pleas Judge Thomas M. DelRicci sentenced Cruz to two years of probation.
A misdemeanor charge of possessing a fraudulent registration was dismissed, according to court records. At Cruz's preliminary hearing in September 2025, two summary charges of driving an unregistered vehicle and driving a car without a valid inspection were dismissed.
On Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, at 2:20 p.m., police were monitoring southbound Bethlehem Pike traffic near Five Points, when they saw a black 2008 Porsche SUV with a temporary registration, police said.
Officers began following the Porsche, driven by Cruz, and ran the Delaware temporary registration information, but nothing came back in the national database, police said.
Cruz was stopped in front of Ooka Japanese Restaurant at 764 Bethlehem Pike, police said. A run of the VIN number showed the car was reported stolen out of Wilmington, DE.
Cruz told police that he bought the Porsche in New Jersey for $800 in October 2024.
He then told police he drove it from New Jersey to Philadelphia, where he obtained the temporary Delaware registration. Police said Cruz told them he did not receive a title when he purchased the car.
Since the registration was allegedly fraudulent, Cruz was driving an unregistered vehicle, police said. Furthermore, the car’s inspection had been expired since May 2020, per the complaint.
Cruz had been free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
