Calif. town residents find their cars on cinder blocks, wheels stolen

On any given day, you can spot Lori Alaniz’s candy apple red Honda Accord parked in the driveway of her Elk Grove home, KTXL reported.

But Sunday morning, the car normally spotted on Chalmers Court had a bit of a different appearance.

“I thought maybe somebody had hit my car,” Alaniz said. “But, you know, like I said, we’re at the end of a cul-de-sac, so there’s not a lot that comes down here.”

Alaniz told FOX40 she returned home from work late Saturday night. The next morning, a neighbor knocked on her door to break the news that someone had stolen all four wheels from her brand new car.

“There’s got to be an IndyCar pit crew that got this thing in and out of here and got the wheels off and up on cinderblocks,” Alaniz said.

But Alaniz was not the only victim.

Police confirmed they received a report last Saturday about another theft happening in the Elk Grove area. They said, in that case, all of the wheels were also stolen.

“It’s a really easy task. All you need to do is jack up the car with one jack,” said Sulman Hafeez, who owns Sac City Tire and Wheels in West Sacramento. “If you know what you’re doing, you just jack it up from the center. You can lift up both wheels and, you know, loosen up the nuts. It’s really simple.”

Hafeez said it can sometimes take less than five minutes for an experienced thief to steal wheels. He’s seen the damage left behind firsthand.

“You can damage the car, you know, the body and also underneath, you know, exhaust or catalytic converters or whatever you got under there,” he said.

Alaniz said she is keeping her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary on her quiet street.

“They’ll get caught eventually,” she said.

Elk Grove police say if you have any information about who may be responsible for stealing the wheels, you’re asked to contact police.