Records show that 20 high-end cars were stolen from the parking structure at Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport in the last year.
Court records from Kenosha County paint a picture that Dodge Ram TRX's, Dodge Hellcats and certain types of Jeep Grand Cherokees were targeted during the strong of car thefts at the airport. Victims would leave their vehicles in the airport parking, only to return to find their vehicle missing, and in some cases, broken glass was the only thing left behind. The police seem to think these vehicles are being re-VIN’ed and re-titled before being sold off.
Gregg Kunes is one of those victims who returned from a trip to Florida in January to find out his car was gone.
"I came back with my bags late at night and the car was gone," Kunes recalled. "It's terrible, you feel violated and you start to question yourself. But I had the keys in my hand and knew it was gone.”
"That day when I talked to security, they said they had lost another white Dodge Ram the night before," Kunes said.
Gregg Kunes is the owner of Kunes Automotive Group, which has had thefts from dealer lots in recent months. He pointed out that Chrysler vehicles are being targeted, as they are pretty much everywhere. Kunes said he believed it’s because they are popular, have high-performance engines, and are easy to sell.
Officials are saying the thieves are making fake VINs to replace the real one, re-titling the cars, and selling them. Who knows, you could even be driving a stolen Hellcat!