Heist in the Heights: Thieves target trucks in the Heights
HOUSTON - Residents in the heights have seen several car thefts over the past few weeks - many of them trucks.
Security video from January 11th shows an SUV pull up to a driveway around 2:30 a.m. Two people can be seen getting in and out of a 2019 Ford F250. After about 10 minutes, the thieves drive away with the truck.
Just down the street, exactly two weeks later, the same thing happened to another F250 - this one a 2017. Thieves pull up and drive off with the truck in minutes - without breaking any glass or causing any commotion.
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That same night, thieves stole Chris Dray's 2015 Chevy Tahoe.
"Friday morning, sometime between 12:30 and 5:30 the truck was taken from the driveway here," he said. "I was shocked actually my initial thoughts, was ‘no way’, I can't believe this is gone."
He's lived in the heights for more than 20 years and has never had something quite like this happen.
"I dont think these are people down on their luck, i think these are career criminals." he said.
Right next door, Harold Heard says his tenant, who lives in the same building, had his Hyundai stolen last month.
"I've been here 20 years and this is the first incident I've had the whole the whole time," said Heard. "It's just crazy."
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All of the vehicles stolen were forb-operated.
"there's no glass break or anything - so they obviously use some type of system," said Dray.
And he's right, thieves often use technology to steal vehicles that start with a fob.
In November we told you about an auto theft ring that targeted luxury vehicles in the same area. Those thieves used devices that steal information from a key fob and duplicate that fob in minutes.
This theft can be prevented by using an RFID shield to keep your key fob in so it blocks any devices trying to steal your fob’s signal.
There are also devices that can generate a new key fob from information inside your car if thieves break in.
To prevent that, law enforcement suggests general anti-break-in devices, including a kill switch, a tracking device, and a steering wheel club.
Residents are getting tech - and security savvy. Heard is warning thieves, that they won't have any success if they come back.
"Don't come back here, don't come back here. I'll be ready for ya this time," he said.