Thieves Targeting Wheels; Is Your Car A Target?
(CBS) – People on the North Side say car owners should tread carefully.
In a matter of minutes, their wheels could be gone. They know, because it keeps happening.
Munaf Chand says he went to sleep recently and all rims on his car were intact.
He got a text in the morning from his father, who told him his car was up on bricks, the wheels missing.
"I told you you've got to watch out," his father said.
The sight of tire-less cars and SUVs perched precariously on bricks or blocks has become common on the North Side. Tow truck drivers are left to literally pick up what's left.
North Center resident Chris Finley is another tire theft victim. His were swiped last fall, right in front of his house.
"My car was literally parked 100 feet from where I sleep," he tells CBS 2's Dana Kozlov.
Auto body shop owner Pete Rizzo isn't surprised. He says thieves stack the props under the car and deflate the tires so that they can be removed by power tools.
"What are you going to do? It's Chicago. What do you expect?" Chand says.
Those in the car business say wheels from Hondas and Toyotas are the most frequently stolen.
