By Shannon Lukens.
Steamboat residents have been getting their cars broken into or stolen when at Denver International Airport, whether parked in the lots at the airport or at nearby hotels. Thieves are also stealing catalytic converters.
Here are four Steamboat victims, with their full interviews at the end of this post.
Someone pushed in both keyholes on Phil Bolles’ 2001 Chevy Silverado during the day at Woolley Classic Suites, when they had parked their car there to catch a flight at DIA in April.
“Like I said, they tried to start it but they couldn’t get it started. Then they were gone. It was apparently midday. It sucks. People like that are scumbags.”
Phil’s truck was undrivable and it’s at a repair shop in Denver. His insurance company gave him a rental to get back to Steamboat. He was also told there is video of the break-in but he says Woolley Classic Suites management at their Aurora location told him they will only release that video to the police or his insurance company. We called Aurora Police and they do not have the video and they have not received a return phone call from the hotel either. We have reached out to Woolley Classic Suites manager Haitham Salah and are also waiting to hear back.
Wylie Brownell had his entire truck stolen from the Pikes Peak lot at Denver International Airport in February. It was a 2002 Chevy Silverado with all of the tools for his plumbing and heating business in it.
“I mean if it was a personal vehicle, that would be one thing, but the fact that that’s how I run my entire business. I was out of work for probably six weeks. The difficulty is getting new tools with supply change shortages. It was extremely frustrating.”
Denver Police found Wylie’s truck two weeks later. It was crashed, and all of his tools were gone.
Then there’s Raley Shaffer, also of Steamboat. Someone tried to steal her 1999 Dodge diesel truck from the Pikes Peak lot when she went to the Bahamas in February. They pushed in the locks. But Raley is a diesel mechanic, and she has a kill switch on her truck. They tried to start her car, but they couldn’t. They still did a bit of damage though.
“I actually had to do that in the parking lot there at the airport because I couldn’t get it to start because they messed up the ignition that much, too.” “But you were able to do that yourself because you are…” “A diesel mechanic.”
Shaffer thinks the older trucks are being targeted right now. Here’s why.
“The older diesels that don’t have emissions, they’re worth a lot right now, so that’s why they’re targeted and they’re easier to steal.”
Danny Randolph is a welder from Steamboat. His car was at the Residence Inn on Tower Road near DIA when his catalytic convertor was cut off of his Honda Element on April 27.
“I got to the car at 11 at night and I went to go start it and it just sounded like a John Deere tractor with no exhaust. So I looked underneath the car and immediately saw two clean cuts right where the catalytic converter would be in the exhaust line.”
Danny’s car was drivable but he had to get earplugs. It’s getting fixed in Steamboat at a cost of $2500. Since he’s a welder, he plans to create a cage and weld it up under his car to protect his catalytic converter from future theft. (See more at the bottom of this email.)
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From Denver Police, through April 30 this year, there have been 139 vehicles stolen from the parking lots at DIA, the rental car lots, and the surrounding areas. That compares to an average of only a total of 45 cars per year for each of the three previous years. DIA is in District 7.
Year-to-date for thefts from motor vehicles is 65 so far. The average for the three previous years was 25 a year.
Kurt E. Barnes, Technician with Denver Police in the Media Relations Unit with the City and County of Denver sent these flyers:
Officer Barnes also sent a list of Denver’s Top 10 Stolen Vehicles. Number one on the list is the Chevy Silverado with 113 stolen last year, with model years 1989-2021.
Stephanie Figueroa is the Public Information Officer at Denver International Airport. She told Steamboat Radio she knows car thefts have increased across Denver and at the airport, so she says take steps to secure your vehicle.
“Always lock your car, roll up the windows, take your keys with you, remove any valuables or spare keys from your vehicle, never leave your car running unattended even for a short period of time, park in a well lit or busy area when possible, use an alarm system or steering wheel lock device.”
Figueroa says since the car thefts and break-ins started happening late last year, they have increased patrols in their lots. She says if you do see something suspicious when parking at DIA, call 303-342-4211.
Once people heard Steamboat Radio News was doing a story on this, friends of Steamboat residents sent us their stories as well.
Samantha Grey of Denver had her Toyota Forerunner parked at the 40th and Colorado RTD train station, which goes to the airport, when she flew out of town in November 2021. All of the driver side windows and the back window were smashed in.
Dan Chilton also of Denver had his car stolen in February. He writes, “In addition it had a bike rack on the back. I parked it at the light rail garage at I-25 and Dry Creek station on the afternoon of February 2 to take the light rail to the airport. Returned February 6 and it was gone. Reported it stolen to Arapahoe County sheriff. Police stated Hyundai and Kia were some of the easiest to be stolen. The detective said they are primarily being stolen to commit other crimes and that it may turn up in a month or two. Got a call from the Jefferson County sheriff on March 4 saying they had recovered the car at an extended stay hotel in Lakewood. Picked it up but it had body damage, no plates, rode differently and the inside had some burn marks, the steering wheel was filthy and there was a terrible odor. I assumed the odor was due to drug residue as there was a large lighter that the police left for me in the vehicle. The insurance carrier totaled it for me as I didn’t want the car. Bought another used car. I had agreed value on my policy so luckily I was given the value of the car in today’s market so buying a similar used car was basically a wash for me as the inflation in the car market is significant right now. The thieves had essentially just punched out the lock on the door and used a screwdriver in the ignition. Very fast and easy to steal. Police recommend using the club as a simple deterrent for thieves. There was video obtained by RTD , however so far away they couldn’t see anything and masks, couldn’t tell anyway. It was interesting that there was broken glass in my car but no broken windows. I think they pulled right next to other cars and if they saw something in the vehicle, they would break the window without getting out of the car. Have read recently that Denver is seeing 100 cars stolen daily. My opinion that it is done to support drug addictions. The police didn’t say, but it would make sense. The police found my car based on a tip for someone else who their car broken into and the credit card was used near where my car was found. The sheriff stated they just happened to be in the area looking for the culprit and saw a man running from my car. They didn’t catch him. I have had other friends here with their cars broken into, even in suburbia. I also had two checks in the car that they attempted to pass for $1000 each that we caught. We have also started getting mail on reverse mortgages sent to our house in a different name. We thought it was just bad soliciting but it turned out this person had attempted to get something set up to go after our house as well. They were not able to come close to doing it but your listeners should know that anything with your name and address in your vehicle is fair game for these people. It is important to know that only the registration without your home address should be in the vehicle. Luckily we had left the garage door opener at home when I parked it that day.
Full interviews from Steamboat residents with details on how, when, and where their vehicles were either stolen or vandalized:
Phil Bolles
Raley Shaffer
Wylie Brownell
Danny Randolph
Stephanie Figueroa is the Public Information Officer at Denver International Airport.
The Denver Post is reporting on May 9:
Thefts of catalytic converters are skyrocketing. Why? And what are lawmakers and law enforcement doing about it?
As the value of the metals has soared, so have the crimes in Colorado and nationwide. Thefts of catalytic converters in Colorado skyrocketed 5,091% from 2019 to 2021, according to the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority in the state Department of Public Safety. In 2019, there were 189 reports of converter thefts; 1,153 in 2020; and 9,811 in 2021.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau said claims filed for stolen catalytic converters shot up 325% from 2019 to 2020.
Law enforcement, auto shops, AAA Colorado and other organizations are getting the word out and offering ways to deter thefts, such as etching identification numbers on the converter. Metal recycling businesses can sign up for alerts from law enforcement agencies about thefts, Judith Kohler reports.
From FOX 31 DENVER on May 7:
Catalytic converter thefts target of state bill