How Did A Buyer End Up With A Stolen Car?

May 9 - KGO (KGO) -- The last thing you'd expect to find at a licensed car dealership is a stolen vehicle. But that's what an Oakland woman is charging in a lawsuit.

Barbara Baker-Barnett found out the hard way she bought a stolen car. She received a call from a highway patrol last summer informing her she had to turn her car over.

Barbara Baker-Barnett, Oakland: "I almost passed out."

That's how Barbara Baker-Barnett reacted to losing the van she bought, but authorities took away. The mother of seven children bought a 1994 Ford Aerostar because she needed a car big enough for her family.

Barbara called Sir Richards Auto Center in San Leandro, trying to find out how they could have sold her a stolen car. She says all they told her was that they did nothing wrong.

Barbara Baker-Barnett, Oakland: "I'm like 'I know there are ways you can find out if the cars are stolen before you sell it from a dealership to a customer.'"

Today Sir Richards Auto Center is basically an empty lot surrounded by a fence. The DMV says its owners simply abandoned the dealership, and that's part of the problem.

The DMV says it won't investigate because the dealership is no longer in business and because no one has filed a complaint in this case.

The highway patrol says there's nothing they can do for Barbara because they found no criminal intent.

But Barbara persisted, asking Sir Richards for a complete refund. She paid $1,700 for the car and so far less than half has been refunded by the dealership and that doesn't include $600 in maintenance costs.

Barbara Baker-Barnett, Oakland: "They won't refund me for anything I put on the car, or the down payment of the $1,100 cash I gave them. So far I've only got $755 and no car."

Sir Richards may have shut down their auto dealership, but they've opened up a car payment center in Castro Valley. That's where we went looking for answers.

Michael Finney, ABC7 News: "We're here for Barbara Baker-Barnett. She bought a stolen car at Sir Richards car lot."

Owner's "Friend": "Oh my god."

Michael Finney, ABC7 News: "You haven't heard anything about that huh?"

Owner's "Friend": "I'm just a friend of his. I'm just sitting here baby sitting the office."

The friend later contacted owner Richard Cresfield by phone and asked him to talk to me.

Owner's "Friend": "He doesn't want to talk."

But days later he called us after being informed by police that we were working on a report. He again declined an on-camera interview, but told us by phone he didn't know he had purchased a stolen car until after he sold it to Barbara. He also said he paid for four months of Barbara's car insurance and lost money on the deal.

7 On Your Side also contacted Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety on Barbara's behalf and it put her in touch with an attorney.

Scott Kaufman, California Lemon Lawyers: "With regard to selling a stolen car, there's no intent required. You're supposed to sell a car you can give title to."

In the meantime, there's another victim in this. The highway patrol believes the car was stolen from Matthew Deyoung of Tracy.

Matthew was apparently deployed to Iraq and never received the notification to pick up the car. His car ended up being sold by the tow company.

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