A Yucaipa couple faces felony prices of assault with a lethal weapon, insurance coverage fraud and youngster endangerment after investigators decided they intentionally induced car collisions with a view to gather insurance coverage payouts and posted movies of the crashes on YouTube, authorities stated this week.
Christopher Phelps, 40 and his spouse, Kimberly, 40, had been arrested Wednesday, March 22 following an investigation by the California Division of Insurance coverage, based on an announcement from the San Bernardino County District Lawyer’s Workplace.
Christopher Phelps has been charged with six counts of assault with a lethal weapon, 11 counts of insurance coverage fraud and 5 counts of kid endangerment, based on the DA’s workplace. Kimberly Phelps has been charged with two counts of kid endangerment and one depend of insurance coverage fraud.
The California Division of Insurance coverage started investigating after San Bernardino County sheriff’s officers realized of the YouTube channel “BLU3 GHO57,” linked to Christopher Phelps, which included greater than 150 dashcam movies of site visitors collisions and highway rage incidents, officers stated.
The sheriff’s division had additionally been known as to a crash in Yucaipa involving Phelps in February that was deemed suspicious after investigators realized Phelps appeared to cease for no purpose, inflicting a truck pulling a trailer to rear-end his car, DA’s officers stated. He later posted video of that crash to his YouTube web page.
Phelps was arrested following a sheriff’s investigation, however posted bail and was launched, officers stated.
Investigators discovered 23 crash movies that linked with 17 insurance coverage claims filed by Phelps, officers stated. One other 42 movies had been associated to highway rage incidents and tried crashes. In all, the web page had 162 dashcam movies, DA’s officers stated.
In a number of the crashes, Phelps’ youngster was additionally within the car, officers stated.
The collisions vary from July 2020 to February 2023, based on a felony grievance filed by the DA’s workplace.
Investigators reviewed hours of movies and served quite a few search warrants, although additional particulars about these warrants weren’t disclosed.
Christopher Phelps was being held in jail on $500,000 bail, based on inmate data. Kimberly Phelps was being held on $170,000 bail.
Detectives had been asking any further victims or witnesses to name Detective Matthew Carter at 909-919-2215.
