MEDINA, Ohio — In recent months, multiple police departments have investigated a rash of car thefts— many of them luxury vehicles— from dealerships all over Northeast Ohio.
In one of the most recent crimes, it appears a caravan of cars worked together to "create interference" for a Montville Township officer pursuing a stolen pickup truck on I-71.
The incident happened in the early morning hours of May 4. An officer was working security detail on Route 18 near I-71 when he was notified by radio that a black 2015 Dodge Ram 1500, valued at $18,000, was stolen from Southern Select Auto Sales on Medina Road in Sharon Township.
Surveillance video from that dealership captured at least six masked and hooded thieves outside the business. A wheel bearing was used to break a window.
Once inside, multiple keys were stolen. The video shows one of the crooks taking off in the pickup.
Nick Zegarac, manager of Southern Select Auto Sales, was disgusted by the crime.
"It's scary what this world is coming to. You see it more and more every single day," Zegarac said. "It's definitely a big team doing it."
Shortly after the truck was stolen, Officer Richard Percy spotted the truck with a dealership plate, a silver Audi A7 without a license plate and a beige Hummer H3 with a dealer plate.
"All three appeared to be traveling together, so once he saw them, they got on I-71 immediately," said Montville Police Chief Matt Neil.
According to a police report, the officer trailed the vehicles. The officer passed the Hummer. The Dodge and the Audi accelerated quickly with speeds exceeding 100 mph. The high-speed chase was caught on the cruiser's camera.
Neil said the driver of the Audi deliberately slowed down and blocked the cruiser from catching up to the pickup truck, causing interference and creating a potentially dangerous situation on the highway.
"This is really dangerous," Neil said. "It goes to show what extent these guys will do, or go to rather, to steal a car. You see what they did to our police officer. They know that's a police officer. They know that's a marked police car. It's fully marked, and they are trying to run him off the road."
The chase continued to the county line, where Strongsville police began to pursue the Dodge and Audi, but the vehicles were lost near the turnpike, according to police.
Police are working with other agencies, including the FBI, to determine if other vehicle thefts at local dealerships are connected to the group that struck in Medina County.
News 5 has covered similar crimes over the last six months in Lorain, Middleburg Heights, Willoughby, North Olmsted, Akron, Strongsville, Chardon, and Norton.
"We know that criminals don't stop at the county line, so it's important that we work together," Neil said.
Zagarac said he was surprised that his dealership was targeted because of its alarm and camera system. He said a friend of his owns a dealership in Canton, and a car was recently stolen from there too. Zagarac added the thefts are taking a toll, especially on smaller dealerships.
"We can't afford to turn it into our insurance. Our insurance could drop us or raise our rates— you know what I mean— so we're just going to have to eat the loss," he said.
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