Thieves prey on those sheltering-at-home by stealing tires amid COVID-19 pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- It's bad enough many of us are stuck at home, but now thieves are targeting some of us while we're inside. Several drivers reached out to KGO-TV to say they recently found their cars on blocks and missing tires.

"Everybody is home right now. All the cars are parked in front of everybody's house, so in a sense it's kind of like easy pickings for them, right? Everyone is comfortable in their house," said Patrick Mark who lives in San Bruno, California.

Mark's Ring surveillance camera caught the moment the thieves started taking tires off of his neighbor's car.

The problem is pretty widespread according to those at Toyota in San Francisco.They say thieves are going after the newer model Toyota tires that are 19 inches and often equipped with nightshade wheels. (It's) not always Toyota though.

Other vehicle models have been targeted as well. Jerry Jeravata has a Mercedes and lives in the SOMA District of San Francisco. All four of his tires were recently stolen.

"My car didn't have any tires or wheels on it at all. It was just on crates. One crate on one side and a piece of wood on the other side," he said. "Maybe he needed those rims for his own car? I hope it's not coming to that where they are stealing rims to make money, because that's bad."

The car owners say that their insurance is covering the stolen tires.

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