In Arab, Alabama, thieves stole eight vehicles from North County Ford, including a rare Dodge Challenger Demon SRT 170 worth $158,000; investigators are still piecing together the incident. Two cars, a Jeep Wagoneer and a Ford Bronco Raptor, were recovered—one near Blountsville and the other at a Bessemer apartment complex.
While car dealerships aren’t impregnable fortresses, they typically employ robust security measures. Considering the substantial inventory worth millions of dollars, heightened security is imperative.
North County Ford, a sizable dealership, typically maintains millions of dollars’ worth of inventory, necessitating stringent security protocols. Despite robust camera surveillance and vehicle alarms, the culprits circumvented these defenses, initiating their operation with a simple rock.
Reportedly, at 12:28 am on April 9, intruders utilized a rock to shatter a service bay window, gaining entry to the main building. Inside, they located the security camera hub, disabling all cameras and deleting hours of footage.
Allegedly, the perpetrators inserted a laptop into the key safe, employing hacking techniques reminiscent of a ’90s heist movie to access it. They pilfered 330 keys, bundling them into a bag.
With the prevalence of keyless entry in modern vehicles, the thieves swiftly hopped into various cars, initiating each with keys from the bag, and drove off the premises. The sole tangible trace discovered was broken glass from the window, discovered by the cleaning crew later in the morning.
Currently, North County Dodge is undertaking the arduous process of reprogramming replacements for the stolen keys, while also resorting to Facebook to implore the thieves for their return, offering a $10,000 reward “no questions asked.”
Local authorities, alongside the FBI, are actively pursuing the perpetrators and the six outstanding vehicles, notably the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. Individuals possessing any relevant information are urged to contact Arab police at (256) 586-8124 to aid in the investigation.
