Repair shop owner recognizes air bag thief
FELTONVILLE (WPVI) -- An air bag bandit caught on camera is on the loose in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia.
Surveillance video shows the suspect climbing over the fence to get into the lot at K & J Auto Repair on East Wyoming Avenue.
He goes from car to car, breaking windows or just opening doors to get at the car's airbag.
They are hot commodities on the black market, costing upwards of $1,000 to replace.
The thieves get about $50 by mostly selling them to unscrupulous repair shops.
Air bag theft has been a plague in Philadelphia.
The thieves target mostly Hondas and Acuras because there are a lot of them on the road and demand is high.
The owner of K & J says thieves like this one are driving him out of business.
"We work hard to get everything straight and then someone comes in and screws everything up, that's really bad," Empinadas Viera DeAssis Jr. said.
DeAssis says he knows the thief who was caught on video.
He says it's a man named Alex who used to work for him.
"I know the guy, he worked for me for a few months. I'm surprised to see him on camera," DeAssis said.
The former employee also tried to break into the shop by climbing through a roof vent.
He destroyed the ventilation system for the spray booth, but never made it inside.
That's another $4,000 worth of repairs.
Philadelphia police say air bag thefts dropped off dramatically when they arrested 20-year-old Ricky Sanchez in April.
He is charged in six thefts, but police sources say he's admitted to 60.
But, others, like this guy, are taking his place, making life difficult for small business owners like DeAssis.
And it will continue as long as repair shops are willing to buy stolen airbags.
Anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts should call police.
