Rim And Tire Theft Back On The Rise In 61st Precinct

Although crime is down for the year in the 61st Precinct, there has been an uptick in the past month driven in part by a resurgence of rim and tire thefts throughout the neighborhood, precinct officials said.

Captain Faison, executive officer of the 61st Precinct, commented on crime trends during the 61st Precinct Community Council meeting last Wednesday, noting that bandits are once again hitting vehicles in the middle of the night, taking off with rims and tires that are resold on the used auto parts market.

Fiason said that the thieves are primarily targeting late model Hondas, Infinitis and Nissans.

The captain said he expected the numbers to go back down now that his officers made some headway in the case.

“We actually did catch two of the individuals we think are responsible last week, and we haven’t had one since. So hopefully that’s no longer a problem,” said Faison.

Unfortunately, at least one incident has occurred since Faison’s statement.

Sheepshead Bites reader Roman K. sent us the above photo, taken this morning.

“So I am out walking my dog and find this in corner of z and 13,” said Roman, referring to Avenue Z and East 13th Street.

The thugs behind the thefts operate quickly. I recently witnesses a crew at work in the middle of the night in the borders of the 70th Precinct. I was biking down Ocean Parkway when I heard a loud thud ahead of me, on the southbound service road. A blue van was parked in the middle of the service road. As I got closer, I saw that the thud was a car coming off its wheels and onto cinder blocks. I went further down the block, out of sight, and took out my phone to call police. By the time a dispatcher answered, the van was gone and I had nothing to identify it with except to say a blue van. The entire operation lasted less than two minutes, and left the car without a single tire.