"I'm at a loss for words": Orangevale man asking for public's help after theft of 1928 car
ORANGEVALE — It was a brazen robbery caught on camera: two burglars hitting California Transmission in Orangevale once in the night and again the next day.
Among an array of auto repair components, the pair also stole Brian Fimbres' car.
"For these guys, hopefully, the police find them first before any of my friends do," says Fimbres, who was storing the car temporarily at California Transmission, run by his friend Joe Cava. "I'm at a loss for words to even think about if we're ever going to find it or if it's ever going to come back to us."
It wasn't just any car either. The thieves made off with a 1928 Ford Model A. The vehicle was non-operational and had been placed in the back area of the business. Fimbres believes the rarity of the car will help the public be able to identify it, given how unique it is.
"It's pretty rare for a car this old to get taken. It was a project car so any mechanic knows to look for this body style," he explains.
The business was closed down for the holiday weekend and when Cava returned to his business, he immediately felt something was amiss.
"I arrived and saw something wasn't right in my backyard," Cava says. "One of my employees pointed out to me we're missing a car we're also missing our coolers, our shop heater, our power washer and one of our transmission jacks."
"He gave me a call one morning and said, 'I hope you're sitting down because my shop got broken into and they took a lot of tools and they took your Model A,' " Fimbres recalls.
Security footage shows two men walking around the backside area of California Transmission with flashlights in the night. They are also caught on camera making off with tools in the daytime. The adjacent businesses and streetside shops do not have cameras, complicating matters.
Fimbres and Cava brought the issue to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office which is investigating the theft.
"They hit us on the 29th and decided to come back on the afternoon of the 30th," Cava says.
The pair hopes that the campaign will help bring awareness to the missing car. Fimbres explained to CBS13 that the rarity and uniqueness of the vehicle were difference makers in going to the public to ask for help.
"First of all, return the darn car, and it would be nice if law enforcement wasn't so hamstrung because this is an issue for a lot of shops around here," Cava says.
Fimbres just wants the car returned as it has become an important project for him and his family.
"It's a project that my kids and I are working on to get them off the XBOX and get wrenches in their hands and get them in the garage with me, so really, it's a family project," he says. "It's been really tough and the whole family is really upset about this."
