Thieves smash fences, steal $100,000 in cars

Thieves smashed their way into a Delray Beach car dealership late Wednesday and sped away with at least five cars valued at about $100,000, a manager said.

It was the second such incident in the past six months.

Wednesday’s burglary at Delray Hyundai, 501 NE SixthAve., happened sometime after 11 p.m., according to police.

Kevin O’Neill, general manager for the business, said the thieves cut the building’s power, which disabled security cameras. Then they used a rock to smash the glass of a side door to get in and ransack the offices.

Two fences were smashed as the burglars sped away with the cars, one of which was heavily damaged during the getaway. The fencing tore up its undercarriage, leaving a trail that included a headlight and other debris.

“I don’t know if they’re that sophisticated because they drove through a gate, [whereas] if they went the other way there was no gate, so it wasn’t brain surgery,” O’Neill said.

A full inventory of what had been stolen was still taking place Thursday, but the heist included the cars and several laptops.

Police think at least four people were involved. O’Neill is hoping that fingerprints and other evidence will lead investigators to the thieves.

Police stepped up patrols at vehicle dealerships across the city after Wednesday night’s burglary. They found a window had been smashed at a Delray Hyundai storage lot about three miles away from the dealership. It doesn’t appear anything was stolen in that incident.

In the earlier burglary at the dealership, three cars were taken and recovered in Fort Lauderdale. Police told O’Neill that several teens had been charged in that incident.

“I believe it’s probably the same type of gang that went here once and did this because they did the same type of thing, cut the power, threw a rock into the window and went in,” O’Neill said.

Delray Beach police ask anyone with information on the burglary to call Detective Mike Shiner at 561-243-7888, ext. 2937, or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County, anonymously, at 561-458-8477.