This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A used car dealership in Wheat Ridge is out 11 vehicles after thieves broke in Monday night, stole the car keys and took off with the SUVs, cars and trucks.

Trevor McManus opened his used car dealership with just three cars seven years ago. He was proud of the lot he filled off Harlan Street near Interstate 70. But now, he’s left with 11 empty spots at McManus Motors.

“They’re newer, nicer Mercedes and Chevys,” McManus said. “I had nice stuff out here. Being a car dealer is kind of like playing poker with your cards facing outward because everyone can see what you got, you know? And they got it.”

McManus said his father called him frantic Tuesday morning.

“He says ‘Did you sell the X3?’ I say no,” McManus said.

He rushed to the lot to find 11 of his best vehicles gone, along with the keys to more than 50 other vehicles.

“They took the tools out of my storage shed and used them to break into my facility, and then used the keys to take all the vehicles off my lot,” McManus said. “And they took all the keys too.”

Perhaps what’s most perplexing for McManus is how the thieves even managed to do it.

“I don’t have 11 friends that would steal with me,” he said. “Like I couldn’t find 11 friends and be like, ‘Hey dude, let’s go whatever. … It had to be about three or four people that were rehearsed and knew what they were doing.”

The seemingly well-organized crime has Wheat Ridge police on alert.

“It is alarming,” Cmdr. J.D. Jepkema said. “If I was a car dealer right now, I’d be very concerned.”

Police are beefing up patrols in the area. McManus said he’s out more than $100,000. Insurance should cover it, but with no way to rev the engines, he can’t even sell the cars the thieves left behind.

“I have clients on the site that are looking around for a car and I’m like, ‘Ah I can’t sell you a car because I don’t have any keys because they took all the keys,'” he said.

The stolen vehicles are:

  • 2015 gold Chevrolet Malibu
  • 2014 white Ford Fiesta
  • 2003 silver Ford Excursion
  • 2004 blue Mercedes E500W
  • 2005 white Ford Explorer
  • 2005 silver BMW X3
  • 2002 green Dodge Ram 1500
  • 2001 white Chevy Silverado
  • 1999 white Chevy Suburban
  • 2001 gray Toyota Tundra
  • 2000 red Jaguar S-type
Cars stolen from Wheat Ridge dealership
Cars stolen from Wheat Ridge dealership

Police located one of the vehicles — the 2003 Ford Excursion — at a gas station in Arvada on Tuesday afternoon.

Jepkema said typically stolen vehicles are shipped out of state to be sold on the street. But police fear they could also be used to commit crimes locally. So far, police do not have any suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Wheat Ridge Police Department at 303-237-2220.

[protected-iframe id=”bf5802d0c0fd5d9c70ab91fbb35eb23d-29290497-62452405″ info=”https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d6109.718750175583!2d-105.0675658287921!3d39.78438869033111!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x876b87bbc34963bb%3A0x98e05be01e3f59fb!2sMCMANUS+MOTORS!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1455716961934″ width=”100%” height=”450″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:0″ allowfullscreen=””]

Suggest a Correction