New crime trend: metal thieves target pickup tailgates

'It's aggravating, it's frustrating, and it costs people money...' says Josh Griffin.

April 21, 2011|by Paul Adler, KY3 News | padler@ky3.com

WARSAW, Mo. -- The rising cost of metal has some thieves targeting a heavy piece of steel. They're snagging tailgates off pickups in just seconds. Law enforcement agencies have had reports of this crime all over southwest Missouri and even around the country.

Josh Griffin, who works at Mid Missouri AutoSports, has a number of customers whom he never meets. He sells most of his pickups to online buyers and then ships them across the country. There's one type of customer that he'd love to meet, however -- the ones who pick up five-finger discounts.

“It's aggravating, it's frustrating, and it costs people money,” said Griffin.

Griffin is talking about a crime that takes less than 15 seconds, and leaves dealers with trucks with no tailgates.

“Once you release these two levers right here, get it up at the right angle here and pull this off – it takes two guys -- and you're done,” he said, showing how thieves operate.

Four of Griffin’s trucks have been hit. Another dealer in Warsaw said he lost 17 tailgates in the past year.

"It's frustrating because it costs money. It's already hard to keep the doors open. Business can sometimes be tight so, when you have to go putting an extra $500 to $1,000 into a vehicle, it takes away from the profit potential,” he said.

The Warsaw Police department is getting the word out to area dealers, and hunting for the people with sticky fingers.

"We've been increasing patrols around our car lots. I’ve told the guys to make a point of cruising through there instead of just driving by,” said Police Chief David Jones.

Pickup owners can protect themselves for not a lot of money. A tailgate lock set at one auto parts store costs about $30. It basically replaces the latch on the back of the truck with one that comes with a lock.

“I understand times are tough. It's a terrible thing that anybody would have to resort to stealing,” said Griffin.

Griffin makes sure his truck buyers know about the problem.

“It really helps to get the word put out,” he said.

He's also installed new security cameras, just hoping he catch someone in the act and help police close the case.

This is a problem being reported around the country. Investigators believe the crooks sell the stolen tailgates online or at scrap yards.

If you can help Warsaw Police catch their tailgate thieves, you can call (660) 438-5522.

|

|

|