As a tow truck steals cars from SoCal driveways, the owners are frustrated, mad

At 6 a.m. in early December, an unmarked white truck pulled into Jesse Roller’s Chino property. Roller had saved for four years to buy his prized Cadillac CTS-V coupe, and in 30 seconds, it was gone.

The truck driver stopped in front of the car, held on using the self-loading lift and drove it without leaving the truck. The theft of the Roller vehicle is part of a pattern in which vehicles have been taken from sidewalks and neighborhood walls across San Bernardino County, dating back nearly a year.

“I spent three hours calling the nearest police stations … I said, ‘Hey, did you guys pull this car over?’ and they all said ‘No,'” Roller said. “That’s how I knew it wasn’t a mistake [repossession]. My car was just finished.”

In Southern California, car repossession by an owner who has fallen behind on loan payments is not uncommon. But by law companies are expected to report to the police. The victims the Times spoke to said their cars were not behind on payments, and the local police initially did not know where their cars were.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials told The Times in a statement that they are aware of thieves using a white tow truck in their area and confirmed reports of crimes in neighboring counties. The department also said it has escalated the case to a special unit that is conducting the investigation.

“At first I thought it was just me, but then I went online and realized it was happening to a lot of people,” said Roller. “My friend told me he saw a white tow truck driving around in Chino, too. This thief is right over there.”

Opened Facebookresidents from Rancho Cucamonga to Victorville shared video of luxury cars and Toyota and Chevrolet trucks being towed in front of their homes in incidents going back at least as far as March and as recently as New Year’s Day. The videos all show a tow truck pulling into a driveway or curb and quietly driving away with the car.

Adelanto resident Adrian Medina said he was shocked after his Chevrolet Camaro disappeared from his driveway in early November. After posting his video of the robbery on Facebook, he said he received an outpouring of messages from members of the San Bernardino County community sharing similar stories.

“I didn’t even know this was happening until it happened to me. Someone has to stop this guy because, in my opinion, it has been going on since the beginning of last year, and it seems like it is growing,” said Medina.

In interviews he had with The Times, many theft victims did not report their lost vehicle reports updated. But Roller said his was found – in pieces. The police called about a week after her report, letting her know that her Cadillac had been spotted by a Compton license plate scanner that pointed her to the tow yard where it was stored. Excited, he drove with a family member for about an hour only to find that the car had been stripped of its parts.

“I went to the towing area, and that’s when they said, ‘It’s completely stripped.’ “I went to look at it and it was destroyed,” said Roller. “I mean, they took the seats. Actually, everything was gone but the shell. I was heartbroken.”

San Bernardino resident April Zavala said her car was stolen around midnight one night in March by a white tow truck. He says the police still haven’t given him any information about the progress of the theft investigation.

“The only way I know it was a tow truck is because of the cameras in the house. It’s the same strategy, to pull over and take the car in a few minutes,” Zavala said. “I think it’s a car theft ring.”

Authorities said they are not ruling out organized crime in the investigation.

Zavala said she had some of her late mother’s belongings in her car when it was stolen, and that is “the most painful thing.”

“That went with it,” Zavala said. “I want the people who do this to be caught. It takes a lot out of you when they take something you’ve worked so hard for.”

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to report it to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department online or at (909) 384-5742.