Police and a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., tire dealer are advising tire dealers be on the lookout for some unusual, off-the-street deals.
A group of "brazen" thieves stole two semi-trailers full of passenger, performance and light truck/SUV tires from behind the Four Corner Tire Shop in the city, bringing their own white Freightliner tractor to literally rip the trailers away from the store’s loading dock.
The theft occurred between midnight and 3 a.m. on July 27.
The trailers, according to store manager Bob Walton, were welded and pinned directly to the loading dock. Surveillance cameras caught the thieves as they yanked one of the trailers off of the dock, drove it away to an unknown location, then returned about two hours later for a second and then a couple of hours later for a third trailer. Apparently they couldn’t detach the third trailer from the loading dock.
The cameras also caught images of what was described as a black Ford Expedition.
Walton said each trailer was packed with tires, and valued the haul at $100,000 per trailer. Normally stacked in the store’s warehouse, the tires had been moved into the trailers to facilitate a fire inspection, Walton said.
Walton said the business’ owner has posted a $20,000 reward for the arrest of the thieves, and he advised tire dealers to be aware that the thieves may be looking to unload their loot.
Police, meanwhile, ask anyone with information about the crime to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
