A Lubbock car owner woke up Friday to find all four of her tires missing.
Monica Villarreal said she bought her Chrysler 300 just three weeks ago, and discovered the tires were nabbed sometime overnight.
“…came out and seen it on these little bitty bricks,” Villarreal said about the big purchase. “Honestly, couldn’t believe that it happened to us or to me. It’s my first car, and I’m so proud of it.”
“Just shocked that it happened,” she said, adding that she did not have any leads.
According to a Lubbock Police report, the suspects “jacked the vehicle up, removed all four tires and left the vehicle’s axles sitting on red paving bricks.”
The suspects “also took all but one of the lug nuts which had secured the wheels to the hubs,” the police report stated. “One lug nut was left lying on the driveway.”
Police said they dusted for prints, but did not find any evidence that would lead to identifying a suspect.
“It’s just a bummer,” Villarreal said. A towing company visited her home near 35th Street and Quaker Avenue twice to attempt to pick up the Chrysler, but was unable to take it to a shop to get fixed.
“The headache of just dealing with insurance (is frustrating), and you know having to figure out how it’s going to get fixed,” she added.
However, Villarreal does not think she was the only victim overnight. After she posted online about her situation, others wrote in to say they were stolen from Thursday night as well.
“Got up, ready for work, walked outside and I realized that my tires were missing, it was just sitting on bricks,” Jeremy Jaso said. He had to call someone to pick him up at his apartment near 22nd Street and Frankford to take him to work.
Jaso told EverythingLubbock.com he got his rims two weeks ago.
“Pretty frustrating,” he said. “I hope (the thieves) enjoy it. Not cool. I worked hard for those.”
Both Jaso and Villarreal were suspicious of the theft because both of their vehicles were Chrysler 300s, the tires were stolen in the same time frame, and the vehicles were left on similar bricks.
“I guess it makes me kind of suspicious, maybe there’s like a chop shop going around,” Jaso said.
“Hopefully they can quit doing it because it’s just sad for the hardworking people that have to pay to own something nice,” Villarreal explained.
Anyone with information about the tire thefts was encouraged to call Crime Line at (806) 741-1000.
