Tom Scripp says tire tracks and a damaged fence are all thieves left behind when they blasted through his chain-link fence... with the two most high-end cars on his lot.
"(They) got a Mercedes convertible and a corvette. Both of them silver,” Scripp said. “I've been here 36 years, and we've never had anything like this happen."
Neither have police. Scripp's K-15 Auto Lot was the last spot car thieves hit in more than a 24-hour period. Police Chief Robert Lee says this all started Friday, around three in the morning. A 2008 Mazda was taken from this apartment complex in the 300 block of South Woodlawn. Next, they hit during the Derby Football game in the stadium's parking lot.
“I can't believe it happened at the football game too,” Jackie Pearson of Derby said.
A '96 Honda Accord and an ‘86 Toyota Tacoma were stolen from the stadium’s lot.
Finally, around 7 a.m. Saturday, they sped-off the K-15 Auto Lot in the Mercedes and corvette.
"I would think there's some connection between at least some of these. Especially the ones at the football parking lot. Whether they are all connected or not, I cannot say,” Chief Lee said.
Investigators are still trying to figure out how the thieves were able to drive-off with five cars. Chief Lee says most of the owners say they didn't leave their keys inside.
Scripp knows how they got into his rides.
"(They broke into) the lock boxes that we had on the car, took them out back and did the rock quarry deal and probably spent quite a bit of time getting those tamper-proof lock boxes open,” Scripp said.
He's looking to help catch them by offering a 500-dollar reward on top of the Crimestoppers offer.
Callers led officers to two of the stolen vehicles already. The one stolen from the apartment complex was found at the football stadium. And, one stolen from the football stadium was found west of Derby.
If you have any information, call the Derby Police Department or Crimestoppers at (316) 788-8477.
