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<\/p>\nAt 6 a.m. in early December, an unlabeled white tow truck cruised into Jesse Roller\u2019s Chino neighborhood. Roller had saved up for four years to buy his prized Cadillac CTS-V coupe, and in 30 seconds, it was gone.<\/p>\n
The tow truck driver stopped in front of the car, latched on using a self-loading lift and drove away without ever leaving the truck. The theft of Roller\u2019s car is part of a pattern in which vehicles have been snatched from driveways and neighborhood curbs across San Bernardino County, stretching back for nearly a year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI spent three hours calling the surrounding police stations … saying, \u2018Hey, did you guys tow this vehicle?\u2019 and they all said \u2018No,\u2019\u201d Roller said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I knew it wasn\u2019t a mistaken [repossession]. My car was just gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Southern California, repossession of a car whose owner is behind on loan payments is not uncommon. But companies are legally required to report the tow to police. Victims with whom The Times spoke said that their cars were not behind on payments, and that local police initially had no knowledge of their cars\u2019 whereabouts.<\/p>\n
San Bernardino County sheriff\u2019s officials told The Times in a statement that they were aware of thefts using a white tow truck in their jurisdiction and confirmed reports of the crime in neighboring counties. The department also said it had elevated the case to a specialized division that was conducting an investigation. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I thought it was just me, but then I went online and saw that it\u2019s happening to so many people,\u201d Roller said. \u201cMy friend told me that he saw the same white tow truck driving around his neighborhood in Chino, too. This thief is just out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Facebook, residents from Rancho Cucamonga to Victorville have shared video of of luxury cars and Toyota and Chevrolet trucks being towed from in front of their homes in incidents that date back to at least March and as recently as New Year\u2019s Day. The videos all show a tow truck pulling into a driveway or along a curb and quietly leaving with a vehicle. <\/p>\n
Adelanto resident Adrian Medina said he was in shock after his Chevrolet Camaro disappeared from his street in early November. After posting his surveillance video of the theft on Facebook, he said he received an outpouring of messages from San Bernardino County community members sharing identical stories.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know this was happening until it happened to me. Somebody needs to stop this guy because, from what I can see, it\u2019s been going on since early last year, and it seems like it\u2019s increasing,\u201d Medina said. <\/p>\n
In interviews with The Times, many victims of the thefts reported no updates on their missing-vehicle reports. But Roller said his was found \u2014 in pieces. Police called about a week after his report, notifying him that his Cadillac was spotted by license plate scanners in Compton and directed him to a tow yard where it was stored. Ecstatic, he made the nearly hourlong drive with a family member only to discover that the car had been stripped for parts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the tow yard, and that\u2019s when they said, \u2018It\u2019s been completely stripped.\u2019 I go look at it and it was just completely destroyed,\u201d Roller said. \u201cI mean, they even took the seats. Literally everything was gone but the shell. I was heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Bernardino resident April Zavala said her car was stolen around midnight one night in March by a white tow truck. She says police still haven\u2019t given her any information on progress in the investigation into the theft.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way I know it was a tow truck was because of our home cameras. It\u2019s the same strategy, backing up and taking the car in minutes,\u201d Zavala said. \u201cI think that it\u2019s an auto theft ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Authorities said that they were not ruling out organized crime in the investigation.<\/p>\n
Zavala said she had some of her late mother\u2019s possessions in her car when it was stolen, and that\u2019s \u201cwhat hurt the most.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThat went with it,\u201d Zavala said. \u201cI just want the people that are doing this caught. It takes a lot out of you when they take something that you worked hard for.\u201d<\/p>\n