HARTFORD -- Residents in the Capital City are left shaking their heads over a recent string of thefts and now they’re wondering what they can do to protect themselves.
“Usually it’s Hondas and Toyotas,” said Randell Reid of West Hartford.
A Honda propped on crates is exactly what residents of Hartford’s West End found on Warrenton Ave Tuesday. It’s sitting in front of Dave Ionna’s home. The retired librarian has lived in this house for over 40 years. He says he’s never seen anything like this.
“We came out in the morning and all the lug nuts including the tire wrench everything was laying right here,” said Ionna.
The tires and rims are gone from his neighbors car, but no windows were broken out and we couldn’t see any other damage. This is just another of a string of tire thefts in the city’s West End.
“The last two months I've seen three cars in this area. It’s not something we're used to seeing,” said Dmitry Sherman of Hartford.
Sherman sent us pictures of two other cars he found just last month. All with the distinctive blue crates.
Reid lives a couple blocks away. “It's really brazen. What's sad is it reflects badly on Hartford and reflects badly on the neighborhood,” said Reid.
With more and more cars ending up like this one, residents are thinking about what they can do to protect themselves.
“I made room in both of our cars to go in the garage all the time,” said Reid. “Even if my wife is going to the grocery store it goes right back into the garage.”
“In fact earlier today before this interview,” said Sherman. “I went to the store and started shopping for wheel locks.”
“I don't feel too concerned about my own vehicles but certainly next time my dog makes a ruckus I'm coming downstairs to look outside,” said Ionna.
We asked Hartford police how many tire thefts have been reported this year but they could not give us an answer. They are still investigating the recent cases.