Car thieves feast on LV

Cheryl Miller

Sunday, Aug. 8, 1999 | 9:24 a.m.

For a city that likes to play the odds, Las Vegas is a disappointingly good bet for car thefts.

Three out of every four cars stolen in the state of Nevada last year were swiped in Las Vegas, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety. Tack on the cities of North Las Vegas and Henderson and the percentage of statewide thefts committed locally jumps to more than 88 percent.

One in every 78.8 cars registered in Clark County was stolen in 1996, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have tried to fight the car theft plague by targeting repeat offenders and seeking federal indictments against sophisticated rings.

But the problem has grown worse every year. And it's costing Las Vegas Valley car owners, consumers and insurers millions of dollars.

Experts say the city provides car thieves with more opportunities than the average Strip buffet. The area's highways give thieves a quick and direct route to parts and stolen car markets in Arizona and Los Angeles. Many of the 30 million tourists who come to town every year park their cars -- often filled with items tempting to thieves -- in massive unguarded garages. And the booming urban area supplies thieves with lots of cars to steal and plenty of places to stash them.

"It seems to be the only crime that there hasn't been a reduction in," said Jerry Hafen, who, until July 1, headed a regional task force known as VIPER or Vehicle Investigations Project for Enforcement and Recovery. VIPER targets sophisticated car-theft rings and chop shops, which dismantle stolen vehicles and sell the parts.

Indeed, while serious crime dropped 12 percent in Las Vegas between 1997 and 1998, car theft was one of only two categories -- the other being arson -- where the numbers actually went up. In 1998, Metro Police recorded 10,240 cases of auto theft, a rise of 8 percent, according to the state.

"Of course, that affects you and me with our insurance rates," Hafen said.

Nevada had the eighth-highest car insurance premiums in the country in a recent survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. And Las Vegans pay more than other Nevadans. A review of rates by the state Division of Insurance found that a Las Vegas resident can pay as much as 50 or 60 percent more than someone who lives in Reno and has the same profile and driving record.

In addition to car thefts, the Division of Insurance attributes Nevada's steep premiums to Southern Nevada's growth, tourism and a higher rate of bodily injury claims.

But aside from the hefty insurance bills, car theft leaves victims with serious costs. Insurance deductibles, tow charges, storage fees, repair bills and lost wages can cost victims hundreds if not thousands of dollars, essentially penalizing the car owner twice.

Irene Gamez walked out of her Las Vegas condominium one morning in the spring of 1998 to find the 1984 Buick sedan lovingly maintained by her husband, Alex, stolen. What followed was six months of bills and bureaucratic mazes.

"When (the thief) took the car, he got everything," Gamez said. "He got four new tires plus a spare and the (ownership) title."

That summer North Las Vegas Police found the car. After scrambling to put together $260 to get the car out of storage, the couple were shocked by what rolled out of the impound lot. The Buick, littered with trash, was missing its front end, parts of the dash, the car's chrome fittings and its radio, Irene Gamez said. The seats were ripped, the trunk lock was broken and the engine didn't run.

Alex Gamez, his wife said, "was very depressed. It was something that he had worked very hard for and somebody else had taken the car and not loved it like he had. It was a very bad feeling."

Sgt. Chuck Mangrum of Metro's auto theft detail hears plenty of similarly sad stories. He and five detectives work the 7,554 square miles in Metro's jurisdiction. Through April, the unit had recorded 3,052 stolen cars in Las Vegas. They recover about 80 to 90 percent of the cars.

While the recovery rate is high, so is the number of repeat offenders. Several investigators said it's common for car thieves to serve short jail sentences only to hit the street and steal again.

"We know who a lot of them (the car thieves) are," Mangrum said. "It's just that you don't have the resources to go and follow them around all the time. The ones we do know about continue to do the same things."

Because prosecutors have to prove that a car thief intended to "permanently" deprive an owner of his vehicle to successfully convict him of a felony, many small-time offenders are sentenced to reduced misdemeanor charges, which carry a smaller penalty.

Metro Police made 1,327 car-theft related arrests last year. The Clark County district attorney's office could not immediately say how many of those cases were prosecuted.

Most of the cars Mangrum's unit recovers were stolen in what are called "transportation-related" crimes. The thieves steal the cars, not to sell or completely strip, but as an easy means of traveling across the spread-out Las Vegas area, often to commit another crime.

The most experienced car-snatchers will drive around in the stolen car until it's too "hot," or too likely to be noticed by police, and then dump it and steal another one, he said. Southeast Las Vegas is a favorite source and dumping ground, Mangrum said.

"Statistically, most vehicles are found within two or three miles where they are taken from," Mangrum said. "If a Camry is stolen from (a particular location), there's usually another (stolen) one sitting there close by."

Toyota Camrys and pickup trucks are the most frequent targets of thieves this year, possibly because their popularity means a lot of them are on the street. But Mangrum says thieves will take whatever is easy to steal. Word travels quickly on successful break-in methods. Between August 1994 and December 1995, for instance, 107 Saturns were stolen around Las Vegas, a good number by thieves who used altered scissors or mailbox keys to break in.

Cars that never surface become the focus of VIPER, which targets professional thieves who steal cars and trucks to strip for parts or to sell somewhere else.

VIPER is currently investigating 11 car theft rings operating in Southern Nevada, according to recent testimony before a legislative committee. The legislature threatened to cut funding for VIPER earlier this year but decided to keep the unit intact but reorganized under the supervision of Metro.

The thieves VIPER deals with are professionals, engaged full-time in what former VIPER chief Hafen says can be a very profitable enterprise.

"A brand-new car is worth twice as much dismantled as it is in one piece," Hafen said. An experienced stripper can reduce a car to its frame in minutes, police say. From there, the pieces may be sold on the black market or to honest retailers who don't know the source.

The cars that remain intact are usually altered in some way so they can be sold. A popular scam involves VIN switching, or disguising the vehicle identity number that every car and truck carries. Thieves will replace the VIN on a stolen car with one that is taken from a salvaged car or another vehicle of the same make and model that isn't tagged as stolen.

Around Las Vegas, thieves will taken stolen cars and park them with "for sale" signs on streets. Buyers, many of whom wouldn't be able to afford the prices on the typical car lot, are tempted by the notion of a quick sale at a reasonable price. Only later do they learn their car was stolen, and by then the thief is long gone.

"That happens so much in this valley," Hafen said. "They see a good deal, but some times the deal that looks good isn't ... there's no one to pay them back for the money they paid out."

Another large source of local auto theft is fraud. Owners who can no longer afford car payments or who see a chance for a big pay-off will sell their car to someone who will then take it out of the area. The former owner then reports the vehicle stolen to collect insurance payments.

Other times, a thief will use fraudulent documents to finance the car with no plans to ever pay for it and every intention of selling it overseas or somewhere else where it can't be traced, Hafen said.

The insurance industry estimates that 25 percent of all types of insurance claims are fraudulent. Some familiar with the industry say the percentage of auto-theft related fraud is even higher locally. California has cracked down on insurance fraud, causing some scam artists to move to Nevada in search of new opportunities.

The state attorney general's office convicted 27 people in all types of insurance fraud cases during the last fiscal year. Approximately seven were convicted on auto theft fraud related charges, according to documents provided by the office.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has argued, unsuccessfully in the past, that her office needs more staff and power to investigate insurance fraud.

The Western Insurance Information Service estimates that fraud adds $200 to $300 a year to local car insurance premiums.

While car theft affects all Las Vegans' pocketbooks, many victims often end up paying twice. The Gamezes wound up in a months-long debate with the DMV over who owned their 1984 Buick. Someone had taken the title from the glove box, forged Alex Gamez's signature and taken ownership of the car, according to the couple, whose account was verified by police. Police say this is a prime example why people shouldn't keep titles in their cars.

After five visits to the DMV, the Gamezes say clerks told them that even though they had a police report saying the Buick was stolen, they couldn't recover the title unless they obtained a court judgment. The Gamezes finally gave up and donated their car to charity.

"We worked for it and we paid for it and the one who stole it had all the rights," Gamez said. No one has been charged with the car's theft.

Police say they have made some progress in curbing car thefts. Since it was started in 1997, VIPER has worked with other states and recovered 160 vehicles valued at $2.3 million, Hafen said. Three federal indictments were recently handed down against members of two rings accused of moving stolen cars between states. More charges are expected shortly, he said.

But police also say the most effective way to cut the number of auto thefts is for owners to make their cars and trucks more difficult to steal. A surprisingly large number of thefts occur when owners leave their doors unlocked or even keep their engines running while they run into a store.

While nothing will stop a determined criminal, steering wheel locks, remote fuel cut-offs and alarms can help, police say.

"The more layers of protection you have," Mangrum said, "the harder it's going to be for someone to steal your car."

archive