All posts in the topic car thieves at work (Short link)
Summary
- There are 7 posts — by 7 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Michael Thompson at 2008 Aug 06 02:55 UTC
I just had my rusty old '92 Subaru stolen from in front of my house. It was
found the same evening in a line of cars waiting to be crushed in St Paul. When
the policeman took the information about the theft from me, he noted that a lot
of old Subarus were being stolen for scrap metal. I don't know why they are
choosing a Subaru over other cars, but I would be concerned if you have an old
car of any kind. The person who stole my car punched the ignition.
A friend of mine who has a garage had two cars stolen from his lot. There is a
new trick used by thieves. They come with a tow truck and no one gives them a
second look. This has been known to happen in large parking lots where people
are not as quick to call because they think they forgot where they parked the
car. At a garage it would seem natural to have a car removed by a tow truck.
My car was found within hours of disappearing and it was ready to be crushed.
Speed is of the essence in this business. Not to alarm anyone, but I thought
that this would be a good heads up. I hate to see people lose their cars, which
have both monetary and sentimental value. (Not to mention the hassle and
expense of a trip to the impound lot and repairing damage.)
Silly as it sounds, I'm going to get a "club" after I get my car back and
repaired. This little adventure will end up costing quite a bit in time and
money. Funny, I never ever imagined that I would be a victim of car theft.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share my experience so others will be on the
lookout. I'm glad that they recovered my car because I had some things in it
that would be hard to replace.
I just got a call from the investigating team. The officer told me that there
have been 13 cars involved and that the guy is getting $300 apiece for them. It
seems that this case should be close to being solved based on this information.
I may know more after I talk to the actual officer on the case.
Jan Nye
West Phillips
Don't the junk scrap require some proof
of ownership when a car is brought in for scrap? I believe they need a title
at the junk yards (salvage
yards).-- Kevin Wynn, DadMinneapolis, MN2005 Ural Tourist "Tpehora"Northern
Bikers for Global
Warming'We, in Ireland, can't figure out why people are even bothering to hold
anelection in the United
States. On one side, you have a woman who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer,
running against a lawyer who is
married to a woman who is a lawyer. On the other side, you have a war hero
married to a good looking woman who
owns a beer distributorship.What are you lads thinking over there?'- author
unkown
I'm so sorry to hear this happens to you or anyone else, Janet. It
has not been long since a guy in a tow truck cut out and stole my
catalytic converter and I've not had the car back all that long; I
guess they stole and/or damaged many more parts out of your car. I
guess this ring was counting on a quick crushing to obscure the crime
and I doubt anybody was interested in a title, Kevin.
Hopefully, when they bust the guy and the folks receiving the stolen
property and convict them, they can seize all their assets and help
the folks from whom they stole.
Jan,
I read an article recently about how some in the scrap business have been
complicit with copper theft. Seems the yard that accepted your auto for
scrap might be in the same category.
Glad to hear the happy, if pricey, ending.
Steve Basile
Standish
My condolences to Jan. It's never fun to be the victim of theft. I used to
own a baby blue Subaru 4x4 wagon. I think mine was a late 80's model. As I
used it less and less often it eventually didn't want to start up again. As it
was time for the fall city street cleaning activities I decided to leave it
sitting on Clinton Avenue outside of my apartment at the time as a donation to
the City. It was promptly scooped up and I never had to deal with it again.
Perhaps the hit song by Fountains of Wayne entitled '92 Subaru has something to
do with the Subaru theft trend?
The song has been played frequently on The Current and it is kind of catchy. .
.
'92 Subaru, by Fountains of Wayne
I bought a car off a couple o' ladies way upstate
Took off the Greenpeace sticker and the New Hampshire plates
My friends are saying that I may have made a mistake but
I tell 'em have a little faith now fellas, just you wait
Puttin' in the new shocks and the anti-lock brakes
One touch ignition for convenience sake
And when I'm through it's gonna look and run better than new
So baby don't make a move
Because I'm coming for you
I'm coming for you
You better make way cause I'm coming through
In my late '92 baby blue Subaru
Ooh ooh ooh yeah yeah
My cousin Gary's taking a look at the transmission
Puttin' in the lime green plasma screen television
Seats feel like leather, you can't even tell that they're fake
And I only got a couple easy payments left to make
Just a little alcohol in the glove compartment minibar
Open up the moonroof so we can sit back and watch the stars
Oh yes and the GPS so I always know where you are
So baby don't go too far
Because I'm coming for you
I'm coming for you
You better make way cause I'm coming through
In my late '92 baby blue Subaru
Pumpin' in oxygen for some Swiss mountain
Alarm system so confusing you can't even get in
This thing is a beast
Value will only increase
Been negotiating turns like peace in the Middle East
There's only three of it's kind, they're never easy to find
Got people waiting in line to pay me double for mine
So baby just let me know when are you read to go
Come on sugar let's roll
You know I'm coming for you
That's what I'm gonna do
You better make way cause I'm coming through
In my
You know I'm coming for you
Yeah, you know it's true
You better make way cause I'm coming through
In my late '92 baby blue Subaru
Matty Lang,
Midtown Phillips
Theft of older vehicles for the purpose of scrapping them for money is nothing
new in this city. I had a guy on my block busted a couple of years ago who was
doing it. There was often an unmarked tow truck sitting in front of the house,
which I found suspicious. After months of seeing cars I didn't recognize being
left sitting around my neighborhood (he would have so many that he couldn't get
them all to the scrap yard right away), I knew something was fishy. I paid
attention, watched and waited. I finally witnessed him and his accomplice
sneaking into the 'hood late one night with one on the tow truck hook.
Thankfully the cops responded right away after I called, and they both got
busted. The cops told me after the bust that they had been responsible for
dozens of thefts and that they'd been looking for these guys for a long time.
And I live on a very quiet block in a good neighborhood, so it can happen
anywhere.
Unfortunately, with our lax criminal justice system though, over the months it
took to go to trial, the one guy was busted a couple of more times for the same
thing while out on bail, and subsequently released again and again after each
bust. Pretty sickening. I lost track of the case, but I'd bet he never even saw
any time.
Ordinances in the city of Mpls require that all tow trucks be legibly marked
with identification and the driver needs to have a special permit. If you see
one without markings or that you think is suspicious, call the police.
349.130. Driver registration permit required, Classes A and E. No person shall
drive or operate a Class A or Class E service vehicle unless he or she has
received a registration permit to do so issued by the director of licenses and
consumer services.
349.170. Equipment. No service vehicle shall be licensed until it has been
thoroughly and carefully examined by the department of licenses and consumer
services or authorized representative thereof, and found to comply with the
following:
(a) To be thoroughly safe for the providing of any of the types of services
described in the classifications in this section.
(b) To be equipped with a 2A10BC or larger fire extinguisher, as approved by
the fire marshal, properly charged and in good working order at all times.
(c) To be clean in appearance and well-painted.
(d) To have the operating name, address and telephone number affixed in a
permanent manner on the outer side of each of the front doors of the vehicle or
on the side of the vehicle in letters of not less than three (3) inches in
height. (78-Or-018, 2, 2-10-78)
Shelley Leeson
Northeast Minneapolis, Waite Park
With all due respect to Mr. Lang, this is a nasty thing to do. In essence
Mr. Lang left his trash on the street and let the city clean it up. Calling
it a "donation to the city" doesn't make it any less so, and only makes a
more cutesy label for littering. Leaving a vehicle for the city to clean up
is lazy and irresponsible. This city has enough problems with trash the way
it is.
Mike Thompson
Windom
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