INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – With cameras rolling, a thief broke into an auto repair shop on Indy’s near south side.
The thief broke into the business on Shelby Street by cutting his way through a chain link fence, but once inside, the suspect may not have realized everything he did was caught on camera.
Popping open one car hood, then a second, minutes later reaching under the hood of a third car and finally pulling open a fourth, the suspect stole several car batteries.
“It makes you feel violated,” said owner Jim McConkey.
McConkey says the thief tried and failed to get under the hood of a fifth car.
“When he couldn’t get a hood up, he realized it was a waste of time and he moved onto the easy ones,” said McConkey.
Cameras show the crook carrying the batteries away and placing them near the fence. Minutes later, the man walked away from the repair shop empty handed, but six hours later, he returned driving a car to pick up the stolen property.
It’s a frustrating crime for the man who has owned the business for three decades.
“I’ve worked hard. I’m 75 years old. I work 70 hours a week trying to make living. It just aggravates me, because he’s pretty young,” said McConkey.
On the ground outside the fence, where the suspect broke in, police did find a cell phone and a GPS ankle monitor that appeared to have been cut off.
It’s not clear yet if the ankle monitor found outside the business actually belonged to the burglar, either way, Jim has some advice for the thief who worked so hard to steal $500 in car batteries.
“I would say ‘why don’t you get a life or a job or something,’” said McConkey. “If he’d spent the same time at a legitimate job, he would have made lots more.”
So far, no arrests have been made, but as always, anyone with information on the suspect seen in the video is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.
