4 charged with stealing rims and tires off cars in Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The four young men were good at concealing themselves while swiftly stripping the rims and tires off vehicles throughout the city.
Ironically, according to police, their own vehicle gave them away.
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Two men and two teenage boys were arrested early Tuesday, with grease on their hands and stolen rims and tires in their getaway van. Detectives in the intelligence unit, which had been investigating a spike of thefts of rims and tires, had the crew under surveillance while they stole tires off one Honda and attempted to steal from another in Silver Lake.
The thefts of rims and tires is a lucrative underground business, where people seeking specialized sets will put “orders” in with crews, who go on the hunt, said Sgt. Nicholas Ludovici, head of the intelligence unit.
The crews will hit vehicles left in driveways, parking lots and parking garages to fulfill the orders, and methodically jack up the vehicles, steal the rims and tires, and leave the vehicle up on cinder blocks. Wheel locks are little trouble, he said, as the thieves know that drivers often leave the keys in the glove box.
Quick and quiet, the thieves can make about $1,000 to $3,000 for each set, Ludovici said.
While investigating the thefts of about 20 sets of rims and tires — mostly from Hondas — throughout the city, the intelligence unit focused on a prolific group seen on surveillance video using a gray Honda Odyssey to get around. The crew was also suspected in similar thefts in Massachusetts, Ludovici said.
The detectives found the Honda Odyssey and kept watch. Around 3 a.m., when the crew got into the minivan and started driving around the West End, the detectives followed.
They ended up on Laban Street, where they saw the crew steal the four rims and tires off a Honda parked in a driveway, and set off the alarm of another Honda when one smashed its window, according to police.
The detectives stopped the van and arrested the four, and seized the stolen rims and tires, lug nuts and keys, and a jack.
Wilmer Silverio, 21, and Darel Cabreja Martinez, 20, were arraigned at District Court on charges of larceny over $1,500, conspiracy, possession of stolen vehicle parts, and tampering with a vehicle. The two boys, ages 15 and 17, were turned over to detectives for charging.