Man treated himself to car… only to get shock when driving it

A Pennsylvania man’s new-car joy was shattered just weeks after his purchase when he discovered all four tires had been stolen and a window had been smashed overnight. 

Elias Sulpizio, of Fairmount, woke up Monday to find thieves had stripped the tires from his weeks-old Honda, leaving behind only scattered bolts in their wake, according to WPVI News.  

‘I used to have a beater for the past couple years. I just bought this three weeks ago,’ he told the outlet. ‘It only had 700 miles on it, so kinda regretting that decision.’

By sunrise, Sulpizio’s Honda was found sitting on plastic crates on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with a shattered window and only a phone charger stolen from inside, according to NBC 10 News. 

Video from the aftermath captured the damage, with a tarp covering the gaping hole where the pᴀssenger window had been destroyed during the overnight attack. 

‘It sucks to happen during a Monday. Not a great start to the week,’ Sulpizio told NBC 10 News.

‘It’s just annoying. It took up my whole morning,’ he added, according to WPVI. ‘They probably made a couple grand off it, so I guess, good for them.’ 

But he said he was hardly shocked by the damage. Within a few blocks, three Hondas were destroyed or stripped to the bone that same night, while two other vehicles had their front, side and rear windows smashed. 

Just weeks after buying a new Honda, Elias Sulpizio, of Philadelphia, discovered all four tires had been stolen and a window had been smashed in an overnight attack

Sulpizio woke up Monday to find thieves had stripped his car bare in the Fairmount neighborhood, leaving behind nothing but scattered bolts in their wake 

Within a few blocks, three Hondas were destroyed or stripped to the bone that same night 

Police and residents have warned that a wave of similar tire thefts has been sweeping across the city – with Honda vehicles appearing to be the primary targets. 

‘I was talking with the cops today, it seems like it’s routine for them,’ Sulpizio added. ‘He’s like yeah, they target Hondas. Brand new Honda. Brand new wheels. It’s probably what they were looking for.’

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Sean Boyle, of Spring Garden, has twice been targeted in what authorities have described as an ‘organized and efficient’ tire theft operation carried out in the early morning hours, typically between 2am and 6am.

Two years ago, he stepped outside to find the wheels stolen from his Honda. This past weekend, history repeated itself. 

‘Sunday morning, I was walking, having my coffee, watching F1, and I noticed, oh my gosh, my tires are stolen. It was crazy,’ Boyle told WPVI.

Philadelphia police warned they were tracking a wave of Honda CR-V thefts, with some recent stolen vehicles turning up stripped and abandoned in wooded areas, including along Kelly Drive in Fairmount Park. 

Authorities said Honda SUVs have become criminals’ primary focus because their swappable parts are both valuable and difficult to trace once removed.

Still, residents like Boyle are trying to look on the bright side, even as they deal with the disruption and expense left behind by the thefts. 

One car nearby was not stripped of its wheels, but it was still targeted, with thieves smashing out its side windows 

Another car in the area was also damaged, with its rear window smashed overnight 

‘I mean, my deductible, I’m getting banged on that, but at the end of the day it’s first world problems,’ he said. ‘It’s all gonna figure itself out. God forbid I was hurt – no one was hurt. It’s just a car. We can fix these things, so it’s all good.’ 

The department’s Major Crimes Unit announced just last week that it was investigating the thefts, with Captain Robert McKeever revealing the ring has been operating ‘consistently’ during the overnight hours. 

‘The parts are interchangeable, and there’s no VIN numbers on the Honda parts itself,’ McKeever told WPVI News.

‘They’re going to take their fenders, their hoods. They’re taking some of their intakes off of their engines,’ he added. ‘There’s a market. There’s a big market.’

More than 30 vehicles stripped bare have been recovered in July alone. 

McKeever said the criminals are moving quickly, removing valuable components from the cars before abandoning them in parks and along the city’s walking trails. 

On July 21, McKeever revealed that neighborhoods in Northeast Philadelphia and Center City appeared to be at the heart of the operation, adding: ‘Just last week, on Friday, we found four all stolen that morning.’ 

‘They’ll do it in a caravan. There’s two or three cars following them at the same time,’ the captain said, according to the outlet.

More than 30 vehicles stripped bare have been recovered in July alone 

Honda SUVs have become criminals’ primary focus because their swappable parts are both valuable and difficult to trace once removed 

Police described it as an ‘organized and efficient’ tire theft operation carried out in the early morning hours, typically between 2am and 6am

‘They take the cars to different areas of the city, strip them down. They have their little headlamps on. They have their power tools,’ he added. ‘They can probably take apart the car in less than 20 minutes.’

In a statement to the Daily Mail, the police department said the case remains an ‘active and ongoing investigation,’ with no arrests made so far. 

As the search for the criminals continues, police shared steps residents can take to better protect their vehicles.

‘There are several measures that residents can take to avoid tire theft, including turning wheels at a 45-degree angle, using locking lug nuts and parking close to the curb,’ the department said in the statement.

‘All of these measures make it harder for thieves to remove wheels quickly and decrease the appeal of choosing a vehicle with anti-theft measures,’ it added.

‘Parking in areas that are well lit helps, and installing tilt alarms on the vehicle can also deter offenders from choosing your vehicle.’

Authorities also recommend installing wheel locks, which can be purchased online for around $30. While they are not impossible for determined thieves to defeat, they can slow the process down.

Another tip is to install a steering wheel lock or secure the vehicle’s diagnostic port – a tool thieves can exploit to reprogram key fobs and gain access.