A crew of car thieves hitting dealerships in the Detroit Metro Area made off with a pricy luxury car by blasting through the showroom window last week. The good news? The thieves are potentially down one member; a 14-year-old boy now in police custody.
Envy Auto Group in St Clair Shores, Michigan, experienced its first theft ever when six individuals infiltrated the show room and made off with an older BMW M6, which Detroit media charmingly calls “rare,” as WXYZ 7 reports:
“It’s got major sentimental value. He went through a few cars shows and saved up all the prize money to get a car,” Palazzolo said.
The thieves, according to Palazzolo, circled the showroom for about a half an hour. The thieves using a Jeep stolen from another dealership then smashed through the garage door. A total of six people then exited the vehicle looking for the keys to the high-priced sports cars inside.
The owner of Envy Auto Group recovered his BMW M6 in Detroit a short time later after he tracked it with an Apple Airtag.
“The car is damaged beyond repair,” Palazzolo added when asked if the car was totaled or salvageable.
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“It could have been so much worse. And with the value of the cars in here, only one was taken. But it still doesn’t make it right,” Palazzolo said.
Behind the wheel of that Bimmer was a 14-year-old boy, according to Fox 2 News. The crew wasn’t done yet. The car thieves hit also hit A&B Motors in nearby Roseville, Michigan. In total, eight dealerships were hit with four vehicles stolen. Not much is known about the teenager in custody. Michigan State Police believe the crew is operating out of Detroit and mostly parting out the cars they steal, according to Automotive News.
Car theft is a problem across the country. Thieves took off with more than a million cars last year. High car thefts also contribute to out-of-control car insurance rates—a major driver of economic inflation.