Mercedes buried in California lawn linked to former homeowner with history of arrests: 'Checkered history'
Convertible found on property of Atherton, California, mansion worth $15M
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A missing Mercedes-Benz found in the yard of a California mansion was reported stolen three decades ago and tied to a man with a criminal record, KTVU reports.
Police said that the Silicon Valley homeowners uncovered the car while working on a landscaping project Thursday morning.
Atherton Police Department officers responded to the $15 million mansion in the 300 block of Stockbridge Avenue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The car was approximately four to five feet underground and contained unused bags of concrete, according to Mayor Rick DeGolia.
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Police found a Mercedes buried under a California lawn on Oct. 21, 2022. (KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco)
Although cadaver dogs alerted to possible human remains on Thursday, none were found more than 24 hours after the San Mateo County Crime Lab began excavating the car.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities believe the car was buried sometime in the 1990s – before the current owners purchased the home – and the convertible was reported stolen in September 1992 in Palo Alto, near Stanford University.
The car was buried with the top down and technicians had opened the trunk.
Atherton Police Cmdr. Daniel Larsen said the current homeowners were not under investigation and that the possible owner of the Mercedes is believed to be deceased, but officials are waiting for DMV records to confirm that.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The man who built the home, Johnny Lew, reportedly has a history of arrests for murder, attempted murder and insurance fraud.
The $15 million Atherton mansion in northern California where the new owners found a buried Mercedes during a renovation project. (TopHap)
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Lew's daughter, Jacq Searle, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the family lived at the property in the 1990s and that her father had died in 2015 in Washington state.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In 1966, Lew was found guilty of murdering a 21-year-old woman in Los Angeles County, and he was released from prison after the state's Supreme Court reversed the conviction two years later.
Police found a Mercedes buried under a California lawn on Oct. 21, 2022. (KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco)
The paper, citing court records, said the court cited hearsay evidence that should not have been allowed at trial.
More than a decade later, in 1977, he was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and spent three years in prison.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Chronicle said Lew was arrested for insurance fraud in the late 1990s after he hired undercover police officers to take a $1.2 million yacht "out west of the Golden Gate Bridge into international waters and put it on the bottom."
Larsen did not say if police believe the vehicle was registered to Lew.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to KTVU, the car is a Mercedes 560 SL with a personalized license plate that is linked to Lew.
DeGolia told the station that Lew had a very "checkered history" but how he is involved "remains to be seen."
Fox News' Bradford Betz, Rebecca Rosenberg and the Associated Press contributed to this report.