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Cars stolen with crushing twist

Police have arrested 8 in the scheme linked to a salvage yard loophole.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN, Times Staff Writer
Published December 19, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Nahshon Simpson, 28, is accused of stealing six of the 27 cars taken in the scheme since 2006.

ST. PETERSBURG - Aspiring car thieves have used a loophole in state law to steal cars with surprising ease, police say.

How do they do it? By calling a tow truck and having other people's cars hauled off to be crushed and sold for spare parts and scrap metal.

On Tuesday, St. Petersburg police announced the arrest of eight people since September as part of their investigation into the car-theft capers.

Seven of those arrested had called tow trucks to haul cars away for cash, and one man actually drove a tow truck, police said. They face charges related to grand theft auto and dealing in stolen property.

Most of those arrested were not working together, though police say one woman began stealing cars after hearing about another criminal's exploits.

"Most victims are happy when we tell them we found their car," said Detective Tim Brown, who began investigating the scheme in September. "Then we have to tell them that it's the size of a shoe box."

The culprits took advantage of lax state oversight of salvage operations, police said.

After seeing cars, usually older models, thieves posed as the owners and called tow truck drivers to haul the vehicles away. Some vehicles were broken down on the side of the road, others were parked on lawns or even driveways.

The tow truck drivers usually just had the thieves fill out affidavits that stated they were the owners of the cars.

After paying the thieves around $175 for each car, the drivers took the cars to salvage yards, collecting several hundred dollars. The salvage yards crush the cars and sell the metal and other parts.

Florida does not require salvage yards to keep copies of the titles of the cars they obtain. Instead, they must keep only "owner/seller" affidavits, which are often vague and sometimes illegible.

"It's a loophole," said Sgt. Robbie Clyman, the head of the department's auto theft unit.

The Police Department says it has identified 27 cars stolen through the scheme since 2006, including a 1994 BMW 325i that had broken down on the side of the road. One man, 28-year-old Nahshon Simpson, is accused of stealing six of the cars, police said.

About 2,300 cars are stolen in the city every year, and police usually recover 95 percent of them. Brown uncovered the scheme after he noticed many of the unrecovered cars were older models. After going through salvage yard records, he noticed a pattern.

Police say they suspect many other cars may have been stolen in a similar way. But they say investigating such thefts will remain difficult until state law changes.

"The state needs to take a look at this," said Maj. Reggie Oliver. "They should require the salvage yard operators to possess a title, or at least a duplicate title."

Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.

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Anyone with information should call police at (727) 893-7780.

[Last modified December 18, 2007, 23:48:25]