We’ve seen this one before!
Car theft is so out of control, some criminals have turned to swiping directly from factories. GM’s Lansing Grand River Plant was hit by quite the heist in the early morning hours of May 2. Thieves got away with five Chevy Camaros but police were hot on their trail. However, these guys put up a fight, using the performance advantage of the muscle cars to their advantage, leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase on I-96.
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Police deployed a number of tactics to track and stop the fleeing cars. The suspects wouldn’t pull over for police, and instead split up, the chases going into different counties. Stop sticks deflated the tires on a few, with some crashing. However, none of the suspects or the law enforcement officers pursuing them were hurt. That’s a win.
Ultimately, cops caught all 9 people who allegedly participated in the heist. All of the suspects are between the ages of 20 and 24. To nobody’s surprise, 8 of the suspects are from Detroit and one is from Saginaw. Perhaps they stole all the available Mopar muscle cars in the Motor City and decided to branch out in an ambitious move?
Fortunately, all 5 of the stolen Camaros were recovered. Just don’t expect any of them to be delivered to customers ever. They’ll probably be written off as a loss, then the insurance company will likely part them out. We’re seeing the same thing happen with the tornado-damaged Corvettes right now.
According to Michigan State Police, the total value of these Camaros was $375,000. After they’ve been thrashed and crashed, the value is probably a lot lower. Insurance will eat this one, but with all these thefts going on it’s costing everyone with higher rates, higher prices, etc.
