Police: Multiple suspects involved in dealership thefts

PERKINS TWP. — Thieves recently struck two local car dealerships in what police commanders believe are connected incidents. Perkins police detectives are working closely with multiple agencies outside of the area after experiencing a surge in car thefts, primarily targeting high-end Dodge vehicles. The local incidents Perkins police Detective Joe Rotuno said that the Foster Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership, located in the 2500 block of Hayes Ave. (Ohio 4), and the Ken Ganley Buick GMC dealership in the 2400 block of Cleveland Road W. (U.S. 6) were the most recent targets. In the early morning hours of Oct. 30, Perkins police learned about a possible break-in at the Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership after employees found the front window shattered and several offices damaged. Rotuno said that two offices were used to store the keys for both the new and used vehicle inventories, and employees immediately determined that a 2021 Dodge Challenger listed for sale was missing from the lot. "We have had an abundance of Dodge vehicles being stolen in northeast and northwest Ohio," Rotuno said. The Dodge cars most at risk include the Challenger and Durango, particularly the more expensive models with higher-horsepower engines. In addition to a vehicle being missing, employees also discovered a newer full-size Cadillac Escalade SUV sitting on landscaping blocks and completely stripped of its rims and tires. As Perkins police began investigating the break-in at the Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership, Rotuno said he received information from a car dealership in Avon Lake stating that the group who allegedly stole the Dodge Challenger drove the vehicle up to their dealership and stole a Chevrolet Camaro. Police later located the Camaro in Cleveland, where it had been abandoned and destroyed after a car wreck. Rotuno said that witnesses of the crash allegedly observed several young males jumping out of the wrecked Camaro and were seen getting inside the missing 2021 Challenger from the Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership. Out-of-town groups targeting dealerships While investigating the missing vehicle from Foster, Rotuno said they received information from a Sandusky police dispatcher that two cars at Ken Ganley were found on top of landscaping blocks and completely stripped of their rims and tires. But police reviewed surveillance footage and believe two different groups were responsible for thefts at Foster; one of which stole the 2021 Challenger and the other which stole rims and tires off the Escalade, Rotuno said. Police believe a Cleveland-based group is responsible for the Challenger theft, while they suspect a "crew" from Detroit took the rims and tires. Both incidents at the Chevrolet-Cadillac dealer occurred in a three-hour span on Oct. 30, Rotuno said. The Detroit group is also suspected of the rim and tire thefts at the GMC dealer. Rotuno added that both investigations probably wouldn't have been solved without the help of the Flock license plate reader cameras installed throughout the township, which clearly identified the suspect's vehicle and license plate, and they expect to make arrests at some point in the future. While it doesn't appear to have been used in the Perkins Township thefts, Rotuno added that, in other similar thefts, suspects are using a tablet device to create key fobs to gain access to the vehicles that they steal. Rotuno said that a suspect associated with the group in Detroit stole a tire jack from Meijer before the thefts at both dealerships and headed back up to Detroit. "We're still working with authorities on that, but both investigations are heading in the right direction with some criminal charges to follow shortly," Rotuno said. Perkins police are working with law enforcement in Detroit and Cleveland, Rotuno said. In terms of possible arrests, Rotuno expects it to be in the double digits for both Cleveland and Detroit, but he did not identify any suspects by name.