WASHINGTON — Bold crooks are stealing expensive wheels and rims and, in some cases, have even taken them from vehicles parked in people’s driveways in Northern Virginia.
After a string of nearly a dozen recent thefts in Ashburn and Chantilly, a spokesman for the Loudoun County Sherriff’s Office says investigators are working to determine whether other cases in the region are related.
“They know what they’re doing. They’re very fast,” says Mack Shivar of Al’s Towing and Storage, who describes cars completely stripped of tires being left sitting on ornamental blocks pilfered from a victim’s lawn. “They’re not afraid to steal them right in front of your house.”
The most recent cases in Loudoun County have included thefts involving SUVs and pick-ups with oversized tires. But everyone is vulnerable, Shivar says.
“Acuras fit Hondas. So they’ll steal the Acura rims and sell them to a guy with a Honda. That’s the hottest one I’ve seen around here,” he says.
To thwart thieves, Shivar recommends parking with your wheels at a sharp angle to make it harder for crooks to quickly remove a full set of four wheels.
“It makes it more difficult to get one of the wheels off, because you can’t get a straight shot at it to turn the lug nuts off — your fender will be in the way,” Shivar says.
Another theft deterrent that costs about $30-$40 is wheel locks.
“Wheel locks are the best,” says Ray Knight of Tony’s Auto Service in Alexandria. “Wheel locks take a special key to prevent [the crooks] from taking the lug nuts off.”
Key dependent lug nuts aren’t foolproof, but will slow crooks down sufficiently to make them consider finding easier targets.
It also can’t hurt to park in a garage or well-lit area.
Loudoun County wheel/rim thefts happened most recently Nov. 10 on Iredell Terrace and in the area of Demott Drive and Welby Terrace both in Ashburn.
Other thefts in the Ashburn area as far back as July happened on Middleburg Street, Tara Court, Pioneer Ridge Terrace, Fairhunt Drive, Crossbow Court, Avonworth Square, Ridgeway Drive and Golden Autumn Place. The Chantilly case was on Pleasant Valley Road.
Anyone with any information regarding those cases is asked to call the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 571-258-3043.
