License Plate Thieves Strike Neighborhood

Eighteen residents of a neighborhood near Heil Avenue and Magnolia Street awoke Sunday morning to find that vehicle license plates had been stolen from their parked cars and trucks overnight.

At first it appeared to be an isolated incident when one resident telephoned police Sunday morning to report a license plate theft. But when an officer went out to the caller’s home to take a report, he noticed that other parked cars were also missing their license plates.

The pilfered plates numbered 18 by midday in the residential tract northwest of Heil and Magnolia. Police Sgt. Dwight Morris said he wouldn’t be surprised if the count continues to climb as motorists who at first may have not noticed that their plates were missing learn of the rash of thefts.

Most of the cars, trucks and trailers affected were parked on the street, although some were in driveways, Morris said. The thefts probably occurred after midnight Saturday and before 9 a.m. Sunday.

“Actually I’ve never seen that many license plates stolen at one time,” Morris said. “It doesn’t seem like juveniles on a prank. That’s a lot of vehicles if you are pulling a prank. They were probably out there for a couple hours anyway.”

Morris said the thieves may intend to use the stolen plates on stolen cars. But the plates now also have been entered into police records as stolen, he said.

The victimized motorists “for the most part have been pretty calm about it,” Morris said. “They will have to go to Department of Motor Vehicles and get new plates issued to their vehicle. But I don’t know if they will be calm when they have to go down and stand in line. That is a real inconvenience to people.”