The Eyewitness National Crime Alert for July 24, 2017

These incidents were reported across the country from 7.17.17 to 7.23.17

Hermantown, MN — 7.17.17

Burglar Alarm Trips Up Would-Be Car Thief

Responding to a burglar alarm at a car dealership, police arrived on scene early Monday morning to discover a forced entry, along with missing money, merchandise, and a motor vehicle from the lot.

Thanks to evidence at the crime scene, officers managed to track the stolen vehicle to a Duluth neighborhood. There, they detained “a lone male occupant” who Hermantown police officers identified as the man responsible for the dealership break-in. The suspect remains in custody as formal charges are filed. (Original article)

Chicago, IL — Reported 7.18.17

Poor Key Management Is #1 Cause of Rising Dealership Thefts, Police Say

Local business leaders and aldermen have a simple message for local car dealerships and rental lots: Lock up your vehicle keys!

Sgt. Keith Blair of the Chicago Police Department’s major auto theft unit says poor key management has become a widespread problem in the area. He told reporters, “What [car thieves] are doing is they’re burglarizing the dealership, they’re entering, finding cars with keys in them, and exiting the property with the vehicles they can get easiest with keys.”

Criminals then use these stolen cars in crimes throughout the city. Cutting off their source of illicit transportation may have a ripple effect in reduced crime across Chicago.

For those interested in a guide on Advanced Key Management policies and training you can implement today to stop theft immediately, please email our Content Marketing Manager at astryker [at] eyewitnessmail [dot] com (Original article)

Indianapolis, IN — Reported 7.18.17

Break-In Turns into Break-Out as Burglar Bungles Getaway

The owner of a local automotive painting service says it all started around 5 PM on 7.14.17, when security footage caught a man walking through a wooded section of the lot looking for car parts to steal. Video reveals the man removing catalytic converters from lot vehicles, intending to use a stolen van as a getaway car.

At this point, he ran into a small problem: The lot’s locked front gate. The cameras record the van meandering through the lot, clearly looking for an exit, before the driver decides to just bust his way out of the lot with the stolen van.

Despite the security cameras, the owner didn’t know about the incident until the following day, when the smashed-up stolen van was found and his front gate in tatters. The van — a client’s vehicle — requires extensive repair work to the windshields and the dents along the van’s body.

The owner hopes that local scrap yards will be on the lookout for these two catalytic converters and not purchase them from the thief. (Original article)

Baltimore, MD — 7.18.17

Shop Owner Considering Retirement After Latest Break-In

He’s survived previous vandalism and armed robbery, but this latest theft of nine cars from a local auto repair shop has the owner considering early retirement. The burglars entered his garage through the window without tripping the installed intrusion alarms, sideswiping other cars and ripping off their bumpers in their haste to get away with their closely-packed haul.

Police say they’re “combing through a little bit of evidence” recovered from the shop, and are hopeful they’ll catch the villains as they use the stolen cars in other crimes. Three of the nine cars are back where they belong, but the other six remain missing. (Original article)

Killeen, TX — 7.18.17

Possible Car Thieves Scramble Their Story Police During Traffic Stop

Last Tuesday, police arrested two men from Bartlett and Belton driving a stolen a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu from a Killeen-area auto dealership in May 2017. During a routine traffic stop, police realized that the vehicle possessed a fake paper tag — and the two passengers told conflicting stories of who owned the car.

Police charged the driver with possession of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance after finding methamphetamine in his wallet. (Original article)

Trenton, NJ — Reported 7.19.17

Woman Wanted as Fraudulent ID Wingwoman

Courtesy of the Westhampton Township Police Department
Courtesy of the Westhampton Township Police Department
Courtesy of the Westhampton Township Police Department

Police seek an unidentified woman who — along with another, now-arrested man — financed two vehicles using fake IDs. On 7.7.17 and 7.10.17, the pair entered a local dealership and financed a 2014 Audi AJ (worth $43,612) and a 2014 Audi Q7 (worth $38,785), respectively. Police say the presented driver’s licenses displayed their photographs, but other people’s information. They also provided Social Security numbers obtained from Pennsylvania identity theft victims.

The authorities managed to arrest the man and another male colleague when they tried the same scheme at another dealership location, and recovered the Audi Q7. The woman remains at large, and those with any information are encouraged to contact the Westhampton Township Police Department at 609–267–3000. (Original article)

Columbus, NE — Reported 7.19.17

Dealership Employee’s Car Stolen While Warming Up

On a cold day in January 2017, a Columbus dealership employee warmed her 2005 GMC Envoy in preparation to leave. However, a Minnesota man decided to steal the conveniently turned-on and unattended vehicle. Police later found the vehicle occupied by the man, along with items belonging to the dealership employee.

A judge sentenced the thief to 90 days in prison. (Original article)

Asheboro, NC — Reported 7.19.17

Tags Missing

A local dealership reported two dealer’s tags missing from the business on 7.14.17. No suspects or other evidence is available at this time. (Original article)

Garden City, KS — 7.19.17

Suspected Truck Thief Crashes Car in Attempted Escape

Last Tuesday evening, a dealership called police to report a $10,500 2004 silver Nissan Titan truck missing from its lot. The next morning, authorities spotted the truck driving down a local street, but the truck tried to escape capture. Eventually, the truck crashed into a telephone pole, and police arrested the driver on charges of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia possession, fleeing and eluding, theft, possession of stolen property, and driving with a suspended license.

Speaking to the quality of the stolen vehicle, the suspected thief emerged unscathed from his brief meeting with the pole. (Original article)

Raleigh, NC — Reported 7.20.17

Five Months After Incident, Identity Thief Finally Arrested

In February 2017, a man used someone else’s ID and social security numbers to purchase a 2014 Super Duty pickup truck and a 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV from two separate dealerships. Police managed to arrest the man on Thursday, arresting him on two counts of identity theft and two counts of obtaining property by false pretense.

He remains held on $40,000 bail, waiting for a court appearance. (Original article)

Little River, SC — Reported 7.20.17

Dealership Accidentally Tests Tire Coding System — Through a Theft

An auto dealership, tired of its tires missing despite a CCTV system, began to test a new tire-recovery system earlier this summer. Technicians put nearly-invisible codes on all its tires that would continue to show to those in the know, even if code was painted over or sanded down.

Three days after the coding initiative started, the dealership experienced yet another tire theft — this time, from one of the test vehicles. Thanks to security footage, CCTV, and the secret code, however, police managed to track down the stolen wheels within 48 hours.

“One of the officers said there is just no way, without having the tracking and the codes on those rims, that they would have ever been able to place them back to this dealership,” the service manager told reporters. (Original article)

Butte, MT — Reported 7.20.17

Ex-Payroll Clerk Guilty of Embezzling $210,000 From Dealership

In 2015, a Montana dealership discovered “checks for unexplained sums” in the name of one of its payroll clerks. After an investigation involving handwriting analysis and bank records, police discovered the clerk embezzled more than $200,000 from dealership accounts during his tenure.

The ex-clerk plead guilty to embezzlement, in exchange for prosecutors dropping its second charge of felony forgery. The man remains in jail on $50,000 bond. (Original article)

Staten Island, NY — 7.20.17

Police Catch Lucky Break in Teenager Break-In

Late Thursday night, four teens entered a local car dealership, emerging with a set of car keys. Luckily, a police officer saw at least one of the teenagers inside the dealership, and managed to arrest all four in the midnight hour of Friday morning. All four are charged with burglary and criminal trespass. (Original article)

Visalia, CA — 7.20.17

5 Teen Thieves Trespass on California Lot, Taken by Police

Employees of a Visalia car dealership called the police when they saw a gang of teenagers potentially casing their lots. Police arrived on scene to follow the teens as they tried to drive a new Lincoln MKX (with dealership plates) off the lot. The cops flashed their lights, scaring the minors enough to abandon their stolen vehicle and scatter. All five were eventually caught and are arrested on suspicion of this theft and other dealership break-ins in the area. (Original article)

South Beach, FL — Reported 7.21.17

Police Release Body Cam Footage of Accident Caused by Stolen Car

On Friday, police released the footage recorded by responding officers’ body cam of a massive crash from last January. A man driving a black GT-R stolen from a central Florida dealership rammed into a Miami-Dade County public bus in South Beach, sending two women to the hospital and pinning a bystander vehicle against a building.

The driver extracted himself from the mangled ruins of the stolen car and tried to escape, but police brought him down with a Taser gun. He remains in jail, awaiting trial. (Original article)

Texarkana, AR — Reported 7.21.17

Scrap Metal Recycler Loses $20K to Metal Thief, Despite Conviction

A local metal recycler cooperated with investigators to arrest and convict a scrap metal thief stealing from the Red River Army Depot in 2016. While the company returned the stolen car parts to their rightful owner, they still took a $20,000 loss in money paid to the metal thief. (Original article)

Arundel, ME — 7.21.17

Three Lot Vehicles Wheel-less in Maine

Police search for the suspect (or suspects) who stole 20” tires from a Yukon Denali, a GMC Arcadia, and a Sierra Denali late Friday night. Currently, no video footage or suspect names are available. Those with any information at all should call the York County Sheriff’s Office. (Original article)

Helena, MT — 7.21.17

Stolen Truck Spotted, Lost Again

After a local dealership reported the theft of a 2006 grey Dodge diesel pickup truck, police saw it shortly after noon last Friday driving north on Interstate 15. A brief pursuit ensued, but police ended the chase when the truck reached dangerous driving speeds and began to pass cars on the right.

Police aren’t sure where the truck is currently located, and say it was last seen with no license plates near Lincoln Road and Interstate 15. (Original article)

Blue Springs, MO — 7.22.17

Unknown Vandals Shoot Vehicle Windows Through Fence

Sometime during the night, a vandal (or vandals) carefully took aim through a local car dealer’s chain-link fence, and shot the windows of several on-lot vehicles. The owner insists that this was “no drive by,” considering the effort required to shoot through the fence. While he prays no rain wets the interior of the exposed cars, he’ll also be increasing security at his lot.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Blue Springs police. (Original article)

Traverse City, MI — 7.22.17

Stolen Pickup Truck Involved in Police Chase

When police tried to pull over a pick-up truck for a missing headlight at 1 AM Saturday morning, the driver decided he was better off leading a chase through construction-heavy roads. Police eventually found the truck — identified as a stolen vehicle from a Garfield Township dealership — but not the man.

Anyone with information should call either 231–922–4770 (ext. 5927) or 231–922–4550. (Original article)


National Crime Alert by Eyewitness Surveillance

Every Monday, we publish the latest collection crime affecting our clients around the country. Vehicle thefts, scrap metal fraud, and high speed chases — we’ve got it all.

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National Crime Alert by Eyewitness Surveillance

Every Monday, we publish the latest collection crime affecting our clients around the country. Vehicle thefts, scrap metal fraud, and high speed chases — we’ve got it all.

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