Baldwin County Court To Decide Fate of '68 Camaro At Center of Stolen Car Mystery
Erica Thomas • March 4, 2025
The seizure case has received national attention over the years
American car collectors have ranked the 1968 Camaro as one of the most treasured cars to own. One such car has become the center of attention in a case for Baldwin County Courts. If you have been following the years long battle over seizure law, you may be happy to know the case may soon come to an end.
Erica Thomas, of 1819 News, is reporting The case of a seized 1968 Chevrolet Camaro is back in the hands of the Baldwin County Circuit Court.
The Camaro was a birthday present from his wife and son for Thomas Craig Hadley. They purchased it in 2016 from another Baldwin County resident, who had bought it from a Limestone County resident five years prior.
The vehicle identification number (VIN) on the title matched the VIN issued to a Camaro in Oklahoma in 2002. Hadley used that VIN to register the car in Baldwin County and purchase insurance. Upon investigation, the VIN returned to a V-8 Camaro made at the Chevrolet plant in Norwood, Calif.
After someone in Tennessee registered the same VIN number, Alabama Department of Revenue agents came to inspect Hadley’s vehicle. The agents wanted to inspect VIN numbers on the dashboard, under the windshield wiper cowl and on the blower motor housing.
The officials could not remove the dashboard or wiper cowl, but Hadley said he helped them reach the blower motor housing, where they discovered a different VIN.
That VIN came back to a V-6 Camaro stolen out of Kansas in 2003.
However, Hadley claims it was clear that a piece of the inner fender had been removed and welded back in place, indicating that the area around the blower motor had been previously accessed. Still, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office seized the vehicle and handed possession to the Kansas resident who reported a Camaro stolen in 2003.
A Baldwin County Court ruled the seizure was illegal. The case was appealed, and the lower court's ruling was reversed, and the case was sent back to Baldwin County.
Hadley maintains that his car is not the same one stolen from Kansas. He is asking for a declaratory judgment determining his rights, duties and obligations.
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