Interesting Article on Rim Theft
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Interesting Article on Rim Theft
Craze for Hot Wheels Stokes Thefts
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Apr 19, 2003; LEANORA MINAI;
Beaming with pride, Manny Woods drove straight to the carwash after the $2,700 chrome wheels were mounted on his pickup.
The next morning, Woods walked out to his driveway to find the gleaming Ford F150 resting on a small jack and a microwave.
"There were no wheels," said Woods, 36, head cook at Holiday Inn Sunspree in St. Petersburg. "It was just sitting there buck naked. I wanted to cry."
He had his wheels less than 12 hours.
The burgeoning craze for flashy metal rims is not letting up, and neither are thieves who covet them. Rim thefts in Florida and across the country are costing thousands of dollars and, in some cases, lives.
Two weeks ago, a sheriff's deputy in South Florida was shot and killed when he caught two men trying to steal rims off SUVs at a Cadillac dealership. On Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, a man foiled two carjackers who wanted his gold wire wheels. He was not hurt.
"You used to see robberies over sneakers," said St. Petersburg homicide Sgt. Mike Puetz. "Whatever the rage is at any given time, people who are jealous or desire the status symbol of the day will find a way."
Drivers adore sculpted steel and aluminium alloy. They have since the '50s and '60s, when show cars first became an obsession. In diameters of up to 26 inches, wheels set cars apart. Some feature chrome faces that spin like pinwheels, or star-shaped spokes that twirl like blender blades. They glimmer when sunlight hits. They draw stares at red lights.
"It's the cheapest, fastest way to fall in love with your car again without having to buy a new car," said Larry Sutton, owner of Rent-n-Roll stores in Pinellas Park and Tampa.
'Everybody's got chrome'
A black Infiniti Q45 is parked outside Wheel Tec of Tampa, a leading wheel and tire store. The car belongs to Tampa Bay Bucs receiver Karl Williams. And it's sitting on $8,000 L-Sportline wheels. Forty-four rivetlike bolts circle the edge of each wheel.
"Which player doesn't have rims?" asked Williams, 32. "You can't pull up in the parking lot with factory rims and tires when everybody's got chrome."
Athletes and rappers are fueling the wheel business, which fetched $3.1-billion in sales in 2001, compared to $1.2-billion in 1991, according to the Speciality Equipment Market Association in California. Music videos flash rims that spin when cars stop. Song lyrics are laced with references to "dubs" and "deuces" - monikers for wheels.
Rap singer Snoop Dogg sang about his Dayton rims eight years ago. The subsequent popularity of the wheels was blamed for so many carjackings that a Los Angeles police officer called them "death rims."
Another rapper, Ludacris, boasts, "You got rims on ya truck? Man, I got rims on my skates! You rollin on dubs, I roll right into clubs."
Inside Wheel Tec, a BMW M5 owned by former Bucs cornerback Donnie Abraham draws the attention of a teenager, who climbs in but is quickly shooed out.
Sales manager Peter Schmid, whose client list includes Hulk Hogan, walks to a showroom display. He spins a 26-inch wide platter, which twirls like a roulette wheel.
"This is the hottest thing on the market," said Schmid, 36. "Everybody's got to have their bling-bling." That kind of "bling- bling" - a term for expensive and shiny stuff - goes for $17,000.
But you don't need fame and fortune to enjoy the fad. You can buy a set for $300.
Deborah Yates of Dunedin bought 14-inch chrome wheels for her 1975 Pinto with yellow and black racing stripes.
"That lady, she was so happy," said Jason Sorrell, 30, manager of Rent-n-Roll in Pinellas Park. "I would have swore I saw a tear come out of her."
Just the rims, please
Dean Marshlack was late for class last year when he pulled into the parking lot at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.
Two men pulled a gun. They kidnapped Marshlack and took him on a 2 1/2-hour ride in search of a tire service that would remove the $7,000 chrome Monsta wheels from his Ford Expedition.
In the end, Marshlack was unhurt, but the thieves got his 22- inch, five-spoke wheels. They left behind his $45,000 SUV. The wheels were recovered three days later. The men who kidnapped Marshlack put them on their vehicle.
"That's all they wanted," said Marshlack, 18. "They didn't even want the truck."
His car has factory wheels now.
St. Petersburg police investigated at least 30 cases of stolen wheels last year. Tampa had 60 to 70, mostly in Ybor City and downtown Tampa.
That's where Malcom Gibbs lost his wheels.
Last month, he discovered his white 1994 Chevrolet Caprice missing after a Tampa Bay Lightning game. Hours later, police found the low-rider. Gone were the Dayton wheels, each with 180 spokes reaching out to shiny rims. The thieves sold the wheels, valued at $2,000, for $300.
For Gibbs, of Dade City in Pasco County, the wheels are a loss. He does not know whether insurance will cover them.
Coverage varies from agency, policy and driver history. With documentation, drivers can insure wheels separately, though people don't.
"Now I sit here and look at my car every day and think that used to be me, and now, I can't roll in my car," said Gibbs, 23, a Kash n' Karry warehouse worker in Plant City.
Tampa auto theft Sgt. M.D. Smith said burglars are targeting cars at clubs.
"What they're doing is shopping for high-dollar rims on sometimes low-dollar cars," Smith said.
Some victims are out of luck, police say, because many manufacturers do not etch serial numbers in the metal. Owners can't prove the wheels are theirs.
"They need to permanently mark the inside of the wheel for identification purposes," said St. Petersburg Detective Jeff Manning.
He also suggests installing wheel locks and keeping the wheel keys out of the vehicle.
'For my pleasure'
Woods, the Holiday Inn cook, was undeterred after his first set of wheels was stolen in February.
He went out the same day and bought fancier wheels with locks. They cost $6,200. They're called Beasts, and they spin like a chopper blade when his truck stops.
"I always wanted a set for myself, not for the attention," Woods said. "But for myself and my pleasure."
$7,500 Spinners. Set of four wheels and tires.
$6,700 Lorenzo LO-4. Set of 24-inch wheels and tires.
$1,880 DVS Wrath. Set of 17-inch wheels and tires.
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Apr 19, 2003; LEANORA MINAI;
Beaming with pride, Manny Woods drove straight to the carwash after the $2,700 chrome wheels were mounted on his pickup.
The next morning, Woods walked out to his driveway to find the gleaming Ford F150 resting on a small jack and a microwave.
"There were no wheels," said Woods, 36, head cook at Holiday Inn Sunspree in St. Petersburg. "It was just sitting there buck naked. I wanted to cry."
He had his wheels less than 12 hours.
The burgeoning craze for flashy metal rims is not letting up, and neither are thieves who covet them. Rim thefts in Florida and across the country are costing thousands of dollars and, in some cases, lives.
Two weeks ago, a sheriff's deputy in South Florida was shot and killed when he caught two men trying to steal rims off SUVs at a Cadillac dealership. On Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, a man foiled two carjackers who wanted his gold wire wheels. He was not hurt.
"You used to see robberies over sneakers," said St. Petersburg homicide Sgt. Mike Puetz. "Whatever the rage is at any given time, people who are jealous or desire the status symbol of the day will find a way."
Drivers adore sculpted steel and aluminium alloy. They have since the '50s and '60s, when show cars first became an obsession. In diameters of up to 26 inches, wheels set cars apart. Some feature chrome faces that spin like pinwheels, or star-shaped spokes that twirl like blender blades. They glimmer when sunlight hits. They draw stares at red lights.
"It's the cheapest, fastest way to fall in love with your car again without having to buy a new car," said Larry Sutton, owner of Rent-n-Roll stores in Pinellas Park and Tampa.
'Everybody's got chrome'
A black Infiniti Q45 is parked outside Wheel Tec of Tampa, a leading wheel and tire store. The car belongs to Tampa Bay Bucs receiver Karl Williams. And it's sitting on $8,000 L-Sportline wheels. Forty-four rivetlike bolts circle the edge of each wheel.
"Which player doesn't have rims?" asked Williams, 32. "You can't pull up in the parking lot with factory rims and tires when everybody's got chrome."
Athletes and rappers are fueling the wheel business, which fetched $3.1-billion in sales in 2001, compared to $1.2-billion in 1991, according to the Speciality Equipment Market Association in California. Music videos flash rims that spin when cars stop. Song lyrics are laced with references to "dubs" and "deuces" - monikers for wheels.
Rap singer Snoop Dogg sang about his Dayton rims eight years ago. The subsequent popularity of the wheels was blamed for so many carjackings that a Los Angeles police officer called them "death rims."
Another rapper, Ludacris, boasts, "You got rims on ya truck? Man, I got rims on my skates! You rollin on dubs, I roll right into clubs."
Inside Wheel Tec, a BMW M5 owned by former Bucs cornerback Donnie Abraham draws the attention of a teenager, who climbs in but is quickly shooed out.
Sales manager Peter Schmid, whose client list includes Hulk Hogan, walks to a showroom display. He spins a 26-inch wide platter, which twirls like a roulette wheel.
"This is the hottest thing on the market," said Schmid, 36. "Everybody's got to have their bling-bling." That kind of "bling- bling" - a term for expensive and shiny stuff - goes for $17,000.
But you don't need fame and fortune to enjoy the fad. You can buy a set for $300.
Deborah Yates of Dunedin bought 14-inch chrome wheels for her 1975 Pinto with yellow and black racing stripes.
"That lady, she was so happy," said Jason Sorrell, 30, manager of Rent-n-Roll in Pinellas Park. "I would have swore I saw a tear come out of her."
Just the rims, please
Dean Marshlack was late for class last year when he pulled into the parking lot at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.
Two men pulled a gun. They kidnapped Marshlack and took him on a 2 1/2-hour ride in search of a tire service that would remove the $7,000 chrome Monsta wheels from his Ford Expedition.
In the end, Marshlack was unhurt, but the thieves got his 22- inch, five-spoke wheels. They left behind his $45,000 SUV. The wheels were recovered three days later. The men who kidnapped Marshlack put them on their vehicle.
"That's all they wanted," said Marshlack, 18. "They didn't even want the truck."
His car has factory wheels now.
St. Petersburg police investigated at least 30 cases of stolen wheels last year. Tampa had 60 to 70, mostly in Ybor City and downtown Tampa.
That's where Malcom Gibbs lost his wheels.
Last month, he discovered his white 1994 Chevrolet Caprice missing after a Tampa Bay Lightning game. Hours later, police found the low-rider. Gone were the Dayton wheels, each with 180 spokes reaching out to shiny rims. The thieves sold the wheels, valued at $2,000, for $300.
For Gibbs, of Dade City in Pasco County, the wheels are a loss. He does not know whether insurance will cover them.
Coverage varies from agency, policy and driver history. With documentation, drivers can insure wheels separately, though people don't.
"Now I sit here and look at my car every day and think that used to be me, and now, I can't roll in my car," said Gibbs, 23, a Kash n' Karry warehouse worker in Plant City.
Tampa auto theft Sgt. M.D. Smith said burglars are targeting cars at clubs.
"What they're doing is shopping for high-dollar rims on sometimes low-dollar cars," Smith said.
Some victims are out of luck, police say, because many manufacturers do not etch serial numbers in the metal. Owners can't prove the wheels are theirs.
"They need to permanently mark the inside of the wheel for identification purposes," said St. Petersburg Detective Jeff Manning.
He also suggests installing wheel locks and keeping the wheel keys out of the vehicle.
'For my pleasure'
Woods, the Holiday Inn cook, was undeterred after his first set of wheels was stolen in February.
He went out the same day and bought fancier wheels with locks. They cost $6,200. They're called Beasts, and they spin like a chopper blade when his truck stops.
"I always wanted a set for myself, not for the attention," Woods said. "But for myself and my pleasure."
$7,500 Spinners. Set of four wheels and tires.
$6,700 Lorenzo LO-4. Set of 24-inch wheels and tires.
$1,880 DVS Wrath. Set of 17-inch wheels and tires.
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