These kids got into the car with so little effort…
It’s no secret modern Dodge muscle cars are huge targets for criminals, just like this Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Whether they’re looking for a fun joyride, something to use as a getaway when committing another crime, or wanting to chop the Mopar to sell the parts, having one means you need to take extra precautions to secure it. As you’ll see in the video (which we’re not sure where it was taken), two amateur-looking thieves boost one in under 5 minutes, showing just how easy it can be.
Read about Milwaukee's unbelievable car theft surge here.
When the video first begins you can see it was taken at 2:26 am. Two kids are just strolling down the sidewalk, hoods pulled over their heads in the middle of July, so anyone who saw them would know they were up to no good. They walk right up to the Hellcat, so no doubt the heist was planned, then appear to both try opening the passenger door and there’s a sound that might be breaking glass. Then the two have a brief discussion before waltzing down the sidewalk again.
As the kids return a few moments later, they appear to be carrying things, but the video quality and lighting aren’t good enough to show exactly what they have, which would be nice to know. We’re guessing they have something to get the Hellcat started, like a key fob signal booster, which is why putting your keys in a Faraday cage at night is an excellent idea.
After what sounds like breaking glass again, one of the kids climbs into the car through the passenger window. The other guy acts as a lookout. At one point the kid inside the Hellcat triggers the alarm, making the flashers blink, but there’s no sound of the horn honking repeatedly. So it might not be a key fob signal booster they used but some other method which takes longer and trips the alarm, but they pulled the horn’s fuse or somehow disabled it before. Or that might be why the other guy is hanging around the grille at one point while he reaches in and snips the wires.
To top it all off, as you hear the Hellcat roar to life and pull away, the signals are still flashing, so they never fully defeated the alarm yet they were able to start it. This leaves so many unanswered questions.
There’s another Dodge Challenger on the other side of the street, but the thieves seem to pay no attention to it. While it’s difficult to make out in the dark, that car doesn’t appear to be a Hellcat, so these guys know they’re looking for the more expensive, higher-performance models instead of run-of-the-mill Mopars.
While these kids seem to not be as good at stealing cars as some more experienced thieves, it’s still troubling that they get past all the anti-theft technologies with relative ease. Breaking glass is a rookie move since it’s loud, messy, and can immediately indicate to the police the car is stolen, but these guys apparently aren’t concerned with that. This shows how so many modern Mopar muscle cars are getting stolen these days and illustrates the value of garaging your ride and taking other precautions during the night. Unfortunately, it looks like there are no driveways where the Hellcat is parked, so the owner might have been forced to leave it in the street overnight. Now it’s gone and probably in pieces.
