After Allegedly Using Stolen Credit Card to Rent $240,000 Sports Car, Cops Catch Teenage Big Spender in Quite the Poetic Manner

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A Sonoma County teenager remained jailed Sunday after he was arrested on suspicion of using stolen credit cards to rent a $240,000 sports car and a $12 million vacation home.

Mohanned Halaweh, 19, was arrested Wednesday after he was pulled over while driving the 2012 McLaren coupe he had rented for $13,000 and was subsequently reported stolen by its owner, Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Sgt. Michael Raasch told SFGate.

Halaweh was behind the wheel of an orange McLaren sports when he was arrested, police said. (Image source: Sonoma County Sheriff's Office)

Halaweh also paid $27,000 to rent an estate in winery-rich Glen Ellen, Raasch said.

Prosecutors have charged him with four felonies — credit card fraud, receiving stolen property, identity theft, and vehicle theft — along with an enhancement charge of being in possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Another 19-year-old man who was a passenger in the McLaren also was arrested and could face charges, Raasch said.

In March, he was charged with allegedly using a fake credit card to try to buy 14 iPhones and two laptop computers at an Apple Store in Berkeley, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat said.

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Halaweh's passenger, Nhimia Kahsay, 19, of Santa Rosa, was cited and released. Deputies said there may be additional charges related to this investigation filed against Kahsay.

Halaweh — a former standout high school basketball player — was reportedly on his way back from a court date for his March charges when he was arrested Wednesday, the Press Democrat added.

Halaweh is being held at the Sonoma County jail on $100,000 bail. He has not yet entered a plea and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

A phone number for Halaweh's family in Rohnert Park was disconnected.