PHILADELPHIA, PA - A new car dealership that opened its doors at the end of September may already be forced to shut down indefinitely as criminals stole several cars within its first week of operation.
The dealership, which is located in Philadelphia's Mayfair section on Frankford Avenue, was broken into by a group of people at some point in the middle of the night between Tuesday, September 26th and Wednesday, September 27th.
According to Nathan Kriegler, co-owner of City Motors of Philadelphia, the people ransacked his office, stole the keys to seven of the 11 cars on the lot, and drove off. They allegedly tried to break into an eighth car, but their attempts at hot wiring it were unsuccessful. He said:
"If we don't recover the cars, we probably won't survive it. It could be the start and the end all in the same week."
He said that the car thieves also made off with the titles for each of the stolen cars. Kriegler added:
"We called our insurance company today and unfortunately, we only have liability insurance for the vehicles. So, if we don't get the cars back, we have no coverage for the vehicles whatsoever."
Police are actively investigating the situation, but since the business was so new, the security cameras had not been set up yet. Those were supposed to be installed on Wednesday, September 27th.
As of this writing, police have tracked down three of the seven cars, leaving four still in the hands of those who committed the crime.
Investigators are also looking into whether this incident is connected to a series of looting that took place across the city on Tuesday, September 26th. Madison Wittenberg, who does the social media for the car dealership, said:
"I mean, what's the point? What is the point of this? Retaliation against something?"
Kriegler expressed his frustration with the crime levels in the city, calling for officials to arrest the people who are breaking the law. He added:
"I think if I had the choice all over, I would not come to Philadelphia. I think a lot of people are feeling that way."
The night after the city was plagued with looters, Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) increased its police presence, and according to Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford, that was not a coincidence. He said:
"The bottom line is sending a message that Philadelphia is not going to be the place where you can do this type of behavior."
However, despite the additional patrols, two people were taken into custody after police said they looted a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in Crescentville. Responding officers said they found the two suspects loading up a car around 2:30 a.m., on Thursday, September 28th.
Jane Roh, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney's office said that a total of 52 arrests have been made so far and all but three of them are adults.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said tht 18 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores in the city were looted. Jamal Howard of Olney said:
"It's just an excuse for them to act up. Like it don't make sense. They're tearing up the neighborhoods where we gotta shop at and they gotta shop at."
The dealership, which is located in Philadelphia's Mayfair section on Frankford Avenue, was broken into by a group of people at some point in the middle of the night between Tuesday, September 26th and Wednesday, September 27th.
According to Nathan Kriegler, co-owner of City Motors of Philadelphia, the people ransacked his office, stole the keys to seven of the 11 cars on the lot, and drove off. They allegedly tried to break into an eighth car, but their attempts at hot wiring it were unsuccessful. He said:
"If we don't recover the cars, we probably won't survive it. It could be the start and the end all in the same week."
He said that the car thieves also made off with the titles for each of the stolen cars. Kriegler added:
"We called our insurance company today and unfortunately, we only have liability insurance for the vehicles. So, if we don't get the cars back, we have no coverage for the vehicles whatsoever."
Police are actively investigating the situation, but since the business was so new, the security cameras had not been set up yet. Those were supposed to be installed on Wednesday, September 27th.
As of this writing, police have tracked down three of the seven cars, leaving four still in the hands of those who committed the crime.
Investigators are also looking into whether this incident is connected to a series of looting that took place across the city on Tuesday, September 26th. Madison Wittenberg, who does the social media for the car dealership, said:
"I mean, what's the point? What is the point of this? Retaliation against something?"
Kriegler expressed his frustration with the crime levels in the city, calling for officials to arrest the people who are breaking the law. He added:
"I think if I had the choice all over, I would not come to Philadelphia. I think a lot of people are feeling that way."
The night after the city was plagued with looters, Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) increased its police presence, and according to Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford, that was not a coincidence. He said:
"The bottom line is sending a message that Philadelphia is not going to be the place where you can do this type of behavior."
However, despite the additional patrols, two people were taken into custody after police said they looted a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in Crescentville. Responding officers said they found the two suspects loading up a car around 2:30 a.m., on Thursday, September 28th.
Jane Roh, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney's office said that a total of 52 arrests have been made so far and all but three of them are adults.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said tht 18 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores in the city were looted. Jamal Howard of Olney said:
"It's just an excuse for them to act up. Like it don't make sense. They're tearing up the neighborhoods where we gotta shop at and they gotta shop at."
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Comments
2023-10-11T22:34-0500 | Comment by: Greystoke
Dummies going to Dem run Philly to run a business were missing the obvious. Criminals have more rights than citizens.