CALGARY – Alex Pich woke up Wednesday morning, saw suspicious footsteps leading to his garage, and soon realized his custom-order, $6,000 rims had been stolen from his car. He called police to report the theft, but decided to take to social media in the meantime, asking for help and spreading the word that neighbours should be on the lookout. Pich says what followed was a “ten-hour adrenaline rush.”
“I’ve heard before and seen on Beyond.ca before where guys’ll post stuff just like this –someone getting ripped off on Kijiji or a deal gone wrong,” said Pich, who posted his story to the car forum—a site he’s belonged to for about 15 years.
“They call themselves ‘Beyond CSI’ and these guys—just from a picture with a little bit of information—will track people down.”
Pich said he put up his story—specifying these were special order, unique custom rims. Within a few hours, the Beyond forum members had tracked down a Kijiji listing where the thieves had posted the rims for sale, as well as a name, email and cellphone number of the seller.
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Calgary Police Cst. Danny Leong took the initial report from Pich, and said the theft was linked to approximately ten garage break-ins on the same New Brighton block. He then referred the case to District 8 Operational Team Sgt. Derek Lotzer.
“I took the initial report from Mr. Pich and while doing some neighborhood inquiries I learned that this particular block was full of young couples and families that were exceptionally nice and polite and knew each other reasonably well,” said Leong in an email to Global News. “I was later notified by Mr. Pich that some of his stolen property was posted on Kijiji and that’s when I requested Sgt. Lotzer and his team to help.”
Police then set up what Pich described as an “undercover” operation. District 8 Inspector Keith Cain said officers met with the seller and recovered the tires and rims. Cain said no charges have been laid yet, but the investigation is ongoing, and includes other break and enters in New Brighton around the same time.
“These incidents were similar in that the offender(s) entered unlocked garages or found a garage door opener in a vehicle and then gained access to the garage,” said Cain, who urged anyone with information on suspicious people in New Brighton on March 3 and March 4 to call CPS at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers.
Police are reminding homeowners of some important safety tips:
- Lock vehicles and garage doors
- Lock connecting doors between the garage and house
- Don’t leave garage door openers in vehicles if they are parked on the street
- Don’t leave valuables in your car
Leong said break and enters continue to be a city-wide problem, but was very happy to help recover Pich’s rims—though maybe not as happy as Pich.
Pich said he just wants to give police and everyone involved on social media a “big public thank you.”
“I would love to spread the good karma and give everyone involved a big thank you for their help. Without the hard work of these strangers I never would have seen my rims again.”
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