Wheels Stolen Off New Cars
A surveillance camera captured the thieves late Monday night
Wheels were stolen off two brand new cars at Barberino Nissan in Wallingford late Monday night.
Not long after Barberino Nissan closed on Monday night, an unwelcome visitor drove onto the lot and stole wheels off two cars.
"They were here for over a half an hour," John Mocadlo, the general manager, said.
A surveillance camera captured an SUV circling the parked cars around 10:15 p.m. on Monday. The vehicle then stops in front of a row of Nissan Maximas and someone gets out.
On Tuesday morning employees found two brand new $40,000 cars had been stripped of their wheels, tires and all. Only the bolts were left behind on the ground. The cars were left balancing on plastic crates.
"Now we're trying to see if we can put this together and hold someone liable for it," Mocadlo said.
The damage will no doubt affect the price of the cars.
"At least $3,000 or $4,000, so it really hurts our livelihood also," Mocadlo said.
This is the third time something like this has happened at the Wallingford Nissan dealer.
Two months ago, four cars were targeted when the tires and rims were taken. Just down North Colony Road, Wallingford Toyota was also a hit a couple of months back.
"A lot of people have been stealing the 19-inch wheels off the Maximas and we've been talking to police about it," he said.
They hope someone will recognize the vehicle in the surveillance video.
If you have any information, call Wallingford Police.
