Three arrests have been made and several vehicles recoveredafter authorities broke up a suspected auto theft ring.

The ring spanned to five cities in Mississippi with a total of17 vehicles reported stolen and 11 recovered in the last few weeks,Brookhaven Police Department Det. Roger Wilson said Wednesday.

“In Brookhaven, there were three vehicles taken, one fromSullivan Ford and two from Nations Motors,” he said.

The first theft in Brookhaven took place on March 20 when a 2002Ford Expedition was stolen from Sullivan Ford in broad daylight,said Wilson.

On the night of March 27, a 2002 Cadillac Escalade and 2002Yukon Denali were stolen from Nations Motors, according to policereports.

“They would come down pretending to be customers, and one woulddraw the salesman’s attention while the other swapped the key,”said Wilson.

The suspects allegedly took the vehicles for a test drive andswapped the vehicles’ keys with ones that looked similar. Theywould come back later and use the correct keys to unlock thevehicles and drive them away, said Wilson.

The only Brookhaven vehicle recovered was the Escalade, whichwas found at an apartment complex in Jackson, said Wilson.

“At this time, we expect to recover the rest of them,” headded.

In connection with the Brookhaven case, authorities arrestedPlas D. McAdory, 31, of 6748 Presidential Drive, Jackson. He wascharged with three counts of grand larceny and faces additionalcharges in other cities, according to police records.

McAdory is out on bond but is expected to be placed in theLincoln County Jail this week on the local charges, saidWilson.

“We also expect to make more arrests,” said Brookhaven PoliceChief Arlustra “Pap” Henderson.

The other cities that experienced similar auto thefts recentlywere Yazoo City, Carthage, Brandon, Laurel and Crystal Springs.

The Jackson Task Force, consisting of Mississippi HighwayPatrol, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department and Jackson PoliceDepartment, worked with authorities from those cities to recover 11of the vehicles and make three arrests.

Other suspects arrested were Renee Michelle Shanks and OrlandoDemetrius Shanks, both 29 years old of Jackson, according to arepresentative of the task force.

“We want to thank the task force for the work they did,” saidHenderson.