Former ‘Crazy Car Guy’ pitchman pleads guilty to meth possession in Wichita drug probe
A Wichita actor best-known locally for his portrayal of an over-the-top pitchman in old Super Car Guys commercials pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in a narcotics investigation that police last year said also turned up two ounces of heroin, pills, guns and a mushroom grow operation at his west-side home.
Aaron Christian Wirtz, 39, could face as many as 10 years to life in federal prison and up to a $10 million fine when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Broomes on March 9, federal court records show. On Tuesday, he entered the guilty plea to one of four felony counts alleged in a January federal grand jury indictment.
Wichita police have previously said officers arrested Wirtz on Jan. 7, 2020, after finding the cache of illegal drugs while serving a search warrant at Wirtz’s address in the 200 block of North Summitlawn, near Maple and Ridge. Wirtz’s plea agreement says investigators “found a variety of controlled substances,” packaging materials and scales in the basement of the home “near a tub of methamphetamine.”
Investigators also discovered 236.53 grams — or around a half pound — of “methamphetamine mixture in a dryer” that was at least 80% pure, two pistols and ammunition, according to the plea agreement.
As part of Tuesday’s plea, Wirtz admitted that he planned to distribute, or sell, the meth to other people, court records show.
Wirtz is perhaps best remembered in Wichita as the zany “crazy car guy” character in a series of Super Car Guys ads that ran in the 2010s, though he parted ways with the used car dealership years ago.
