Two Dealer Alerts

Two Dealer Alerts

Small time thief targets personal property at area dealerships[/I]

Alert 1. [I]Grand Theft Auto[/I]. WANADA members should be on the lookout for a white male in his early 20s wearing an earring in each ear who is targeting high end dealerships to steal a car taken on a test drive. The perpetrator stole an AMG Mercedes last week from a local dealer.

His modus operandi is to pull into the dealership in a late model high end car (which is also stolen) and asks to go on test drive. He will say he is a graduate student at the local university and his father is buying him a new car. The ID he produces is false. He will leave the car he pulled up in the dealership and steal the test drive vehicle. Anyone with additional information, contact Jake Kelderman at WANADA at (202) 237-7200.

Alert 2. [I]Misappropriation of dealership office equipment[/I] (as reported via a WANADA Special Bulletin, May 25). A WANADA dealer member with stores in Prince Georges and Alexandria has advised the association of an individual with theft on his mind wandering around customer areas and offices in the service and sales departments misappropriating small items left on tables and desks.

The individual believed responsible for the thefts is described as a stocky, middle aged African-American male, dressed in a sweatshirt style jacket and jeans and sometimes donning a Tupak-celebrity T-shirt. The mode of operation of the perpetrator is as follows: He enters a dealership through the service department and walks around to the sales department and looks around for items he can steal. He targets laptops and other pieces of electronic equipment. Cable locks do not deter him; he just snaps them off their chassis.

He may or may not have a backpack on him the first time he enters a store. He will then leave and come back into the store with a backpack and steal the items he saw on his first encounter. He has been known to come back to a store multiple days in a row. He also normally hits the store early in the day, after service has opened, but before sales personnel are around.

He has been seen driving a gold GMC Jimmy, a gold Ford Fusion and a black Toyota Sequoia. He is very bold, preferring to walk towards groups of people, rather than avoiding them. He is also willing to talk to employees directly, sometimes posing irrational questions.

The dealer says that the incidents and description of the individual believed to be involved have been reported to the police. For more information contact, Jeff Parker, Passport Automotive Group, 703-906-9380 or jeffrey.parker@passportauto.com.