JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Imagine returning to your parked car in a Riverside apartment building parking garage only to find it missing all four wheels and sitting on concrete pavers.
Well, D.A. and his friend Chelsea Carter don’t have to imagine it because, on Sunday morning, that scenario was their reality.
The couple said they were leaving Carter’s Vista Brooklyn apartment when they walked into the parking garage on Riverside Avenue and discovered all four wheels on D.A.’s car were stolen.
“My wheels were gone. Left on pavers,” D.A. said. “That had to have happened between 9 p.m. Saturday night and sometime Sunday morning. This is the second time this has happened. It happened to someone on the sixth floor, and I don’t know what came of that, but now we know this was not just a freak thing, someone is coming in here and doing this.”
Another resident who asked to remain anonymous told News4JAX his luxury vehicle was previously broken into after someone smashed the window. He said his car was also parked in the same garage.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney, who retired as JSO’s Director of Investigations, said people who commit this kind of theft work as a team.
“You have to have people carry the equipment. You have to have people to do the tires. If you ever see surveillance video of this, it happens so fast. It’s like a mini-NASCAR pit crew. They come prepared with floor jacks. They come with blocks to leave the car up,” Hackney said.
Residents told News4JAX there are no surveillance cameras on the first level of the garage where D.A.’s car was targeted by thieves. They also said the exit gate has been inoperable at times and that management has been trying to get it fixed.
News4JAX reached out to management about the incidents. We were told management was aware of the concerns, but they had no further comment.
Hackney said even if the exit gate was operable, it would not have prevented criminals from stealing tires off the car. However, he said there is something people can do to make it harder for crooks to steal tires.
“Have some kind of specific wheel lock. It may not deter them, but it may slow them down,” Hackney said.
Hackney said that when crooks are trying to steal tires, the last thing they want is to be slowed down to the point where they could get caught. A crook with the right tools might be able to get past the locks and steal the tires, but the process might not be as quick as stealing the tires without a lock.
The garage is located on a busy strip that runs through the Brooklyn neighborhood of Jacksonville that is considered by many to be a trendy up-and-coming area with newer luxury apartments, a high-end grocery store with another high-end grocery store on the way, and newer restaurants and shops.
News of the latest tire thefts on top of other thefts inside the garage has left many in a state of disbelief because that area of Jacksonville is rarely mentioned in the news when it comes to crime.
“We were just shocked. Yes. Definitely shocked,” said D.A. and Carter.
But although the area is not known for crime, JSO crime data revealed thieves have taken a liking to Riverside Avenue.
According to a JSO crime map, which was adjusted to only show thefts, vehicle burglaries, non-vehicle burglaries, and robberies within 1,000 feet of the garage, between June 1 and Sept. 1, there were seven vehicle burglaries, one non-vehicle burglary, and one robbery.
Two of the vehicle burglaries and one non-vehicle burglary were reported at 200 Riverside Ave. -- the same address as the apartment building and garage. There were also 27 reports of non-vehicle thefts.
“Criminals will go to these high-end places where there are more expensive (cars) and expensive things left in cars and that’s who they will victimize,” Hackney said.
There are several businesses on the first floor of the building that also use the garage. Some of the employees News4JAX spoke with said hearing about what happened has made them feel uneasy about leaving their vehicles in the garage.