PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Neighbors in parts of Northern Liberties are fed up with thieves targeting cars after they said there was a lull in car-related thefts.
Some of the recent issues include thefts of catalytic converters, stolen wheels and tires, and smashed windows.
Action News obtained surveillance video on Fairmount Ave. showing suspects steal what neighbors believe was the catalytic converter from under a pickup truck.
The suspects can be seen taking parts from underneath the vehicle at around 6:45 Thursday morning.
“It just shows that people are getting more bold,” said neighbor Jon Pearce.
A car can still run without a catalytic converter, but the vehicle will be very loud, as if the muffler is missing.
It’s an important piece of the exhaust system made of metal that thieves sell for money.
And then there are other car-related thefts. All four wheels were stolen this week from a Toyota Corolla left on the ground at Front St. and Fairmount Ave.
Pearce said the issues have occurred off and on.
“It seems to be a wave, then it goes away and then a few months of nothing, and then it comes back,” Pearce said.
A Honda Civic is being propped up by one tire with the lug nuts scattered on the ground near 2nd and Brown streets.
Pearce said neighbors had an encounter a few months ago.
“Another neighbor caught them on camera wheeling the wheels down the street,” Pearce said.
Neighbors also point out that it’s been quiet until recently, with additional instances of smashed windows under bridges where they’d like to see more lighting.
Pearce said, “People work hard, people need their cars and so stealing from them is not an acceptable thing to be doing.”
Philadelphia police said they are looking into our requests for more information on reports in the neighborhood.
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