Not even the military is safe from car thieves!
We’ve seen car thieves steal vehicles from police, including when handcuffed and in custody, but unwisely we assumed the military wouldn’t become a target. In a move that shows car thieves must think they run the world, a group broke into an armory in Santa Rosa, California on the night of July 3, stealing a Humvee of all things.
Off-roading in New Zealand looks amazing.
As reported by Army Times, the Sonoma County heist still hasn’t been solved. The suspects apparently used a tarp to cover the razor wire at the top of a chain link fence, climbed over, and then literally crashed the front gate of the armory using the heavy, armored vehicle.
Thankfully, the Humvee didn’t have a mounted gun and reportedly there were no weapons inside. Investigators won’t say whether anything else was stolen from the armory, which could be concerning.
Nobody seemed to know about the theft until around two hours later when multiple eyewitnesses called 911 about a reckless driver running with no lights on in the area. By the time police responded, all they found was the damage to the armory.
Speaking to ABC, a California Highway Patrol officer said he believes the person or at least one of the people who swiped the Humvee was in the service and has experience with the vehicle. That makes sense since they’re not exactly set up like your mom’s Chevy Tahoe. First of all, you don’t need keys to start up the engine and drive one away, so they’re not exactly difficult to steal. Still, that narrows the list down to tens of thousands of potential suspects, maybe more.
One would think a camouflaged Humvee would stick out like a sore thumb just about anywhere. Some people claim to have seen it in different parts of Northern California, reports the Los Angeles Times, but those tips haven’t led to a recovery. While some people have decommissioned Humvees, this one is outfitted like it’s still in the service, because it is, so that should make it more memorable for anyone who sees it on the road. That would make us suspect the vehicle has been hidden since not too long after the July 3 heist.
For now, CHP is reportedly leading the investigation, with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office lending support. But it sounds like leads are growing cold.
Image via U.S. Army Reserve
No cameras. No LoJack. No tracking system. Seems like the US ARMY National Guard would budget for better Security.
Depending on the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is a pointless waste of time.