Man accused of stealing vehicles by reprogramming keys

Published 3:00 pm Monday, December 8, 2025

A Renton police investigation has uncovered a Tacoma man’s vehicle theft strategy involving a device that could start a vehicle without its original key.

On Nov. 18, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Martin Salvador Cunningham, 18, of Tacoma, with two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, theft of a firearm and second-degree identity theft.

According to charging documents, the investigation into Cunningham in these cases began with a Renton car theft on Aug. 19. Following this theft, more cars were stolen, and Renton officers discovered that Cunningham was utilizing an electronic device to program key fobs to start vehicles.

On Nov. 20, Cunningham pleaded not guilty to his charges. The King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention jail lookup portal listed Cunningham as currently at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, being held on a $150,000 bail.

Details of the case

A about 7:48 p.m. Aug. 19, Renton police officers were dispatched to an auto theft report in the 3800 block of NE Fourth Street in Renton. The reporting party stated that her Jeep Cherokee SRT was stolen between 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., and that the thief did not use the original keys.

According to documents, an officer found it significant and somewhat unusual that a newer vehicle was stolen without the original keys.

“Based on my training and experience, it is not common for newer vehicles to have the same security vulnerabilities as older vehicles, which were often stolen more easily without any sort of official key,” according to the officer’s report. “Newer vehicles are often equipped with security features built-in to the vehicle, which require a key to be present to start a vehicle.”

The owner of the stolen car told officers that her credit card was used to purchase gasoline just 15 minutes before officers arrived. Officers then reviewed footage from the gas station showing the reporting party’s car after it was stolen, while her credit card was being used. They saw someone filling the car with gas wearing the same clothes that Cunningham would later be identified as owning.

Two days after the initial incident, on Aug. 21, officers located the Jeep Cherokee SRT in Lakewood, which had been stolen from Renton. When the owner tried to unlock the car with the original car keys, it did not work.

An officer, upon viewing a photo of the car’s condition when officers located it, noticed that the infotainment system had been altered and that wires were protruding from it. The officer stated that the altered infotainment center and the apparent deprogramming of the key led the officer to believe that the vehicle was digitally manipulated.

Documents state that on Aug. 31, a Renton detective received a text from the owner of the Jeep Cherokee SRT, stolen on Aug. 19, reporting that a Seattle officer found her property on Cunningham during an arrest in Seattle. The officer stated that he found Cunningham in possession of the Social Security card and driver’s license of the alleged victim of the Aug. 19 Renton Jeep Cherokee SRT theft.

During the Aug. 31 Seattle arrest, Cunningham also possessed a loaded Glock with a switch that made the gun fully automatic, along with multiple Dodge key fobs and a window punch. Officers also discovered an Autel key programmer, an electronic device that reprograms vehicles to start with a non-original key, according to documents.

Suspect’s social media page

Documents state that on Oct. 23, a Tacoma police officer informed a Renton detective that he had discovered an Instagram account belonging to Cunningham that had the name “Striker” in it. The Renton detective stated in documents that a “Striker” can refer to a higher-value vehicle that is stolen, altered and then sold at a price below market value because it is stolen.

Through that Instagram account, officers found that Cunningham was attempting to sell a stolen Jeep Cherokee SRT. That Jeep Cherokee SRT was stolen out of Tukwila on Oct. 8. According to documents, Cunningham was trying to sell the vehicle for $1,000, while it usually sells for $30,000 to $40,000 in the market.

Officers then discovered a video on Cunningham’s Instagram, believed to be a car stolen out of SeaTac on Oct. 3. Officers recovered that vehicle 500 feet from Cunningham’s residence in Tacoma.

A video was then found on Cunningham’s Instagram that was posted on Oct. 19, where he was taking a video of a Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk that was later determined to be a car stolen out of Seattle on Oct. 17. In that video, Cunningham is seen utilizing an Autel key programmer device on the Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk. Documents state that Cunningham additionally stole a firearm from that Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk that was seen in the video posted to his Instagram.

The owner of the Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk had a tracking device installed in his car, and he told officers where it was while it was stolen. Officers then recovered video from behind a marijuana store in Seattle, where the Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk was seen on video, and a man exited, whom officers believed was Cunningham.

According to documents, the video behind the marijuana store shows a man exiting the car and taking a video of the vehicle, and the man is seen holding what appears to be an Autel key programmer device and the firearm belonging to the owner of the Trackhawk. The video the man is taking behind the marijuana store seems to depict a video that matches up with a video posted to Cunningham’s Instagram where he is showing the vehicle, an Autel key programmer device and the firearm belonging to the owner of the Trackhawk.

Documents state that on Nov. 14, Valley SWAT served a search warrant at Cunningham’s Tacoma home, where officers retrieved an Autel key programmer. When officers told Cunningham why he was being arrested, he did not seem surprised, except when they told him they were also investigating his connection to a Tukwila robbery.

According to the Renton Police Department, they recovered eight weapons from Cunningham’s home, including one that was modified to fire like a fully automatic machine gun. He also had hundreds of rounds of ammunition and other evidence.