Car thefts rise in Charlotte; police find common thread among cases

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police highlighted an alarming spike in car theft cases in the city.

Police revealed Wednesday that there have been more than 230 car thefts in 2018 -- and January isn’t even over yet.

Police said in many of the cases, the victims are their own worst enemy because they leave the keys in the car.

Officers released video of a typical theft from 2017 that showed a woman stopped at a gas station and getting out of her car while leaving the keys in the ignition. The suspect jumped behind the wheel and took off.

"People are looking for people who are gassing up, walking away from their car, going inside to pay, use the restroom. They jump in the car and they have a stolen car," Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Capt. Jonathan Thomas said.

Auto theft is up 31 percent from the start of the year and officers said that in 37 percent of those thefts, the keys were left in the car.

"They are usually embarrassed and, quite honestly, numbers are under reported as far as keys in the car," Thomas said.

Police said many suspects in the cases are young teenagers. Officers said they just arrested a 14-year-old who was responsible for two car thefts.

Officers said the teen was arrested Tuesday afternoon near Beatties Ford Road and LaSalle Street. He was released from juvenile custody and back at again, according to police. They said he was arrested Wednesday morning near South Mecklenburg High School in another stolen car. Police said in that case a woman left her car running with the keys in it.

“What we’re asking for is, just like on this video, is for people to stop leaving the keys in their car. Not just in parking lots, in gas stations; over half of our cases are in people’s home driveways, where people are warming up their vehicles," Thomas said.

Police said some of the teens can be dangerous because at 13, 14, or 15 years old, they don't have the best driving skills and some of them make the mistake of trying to run from officers and that puts the community at risk.

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