j9fd3s

i dunno we sell a lot of Lojacks, but who on earth would steal a new mazda? and then i havent heard of any cars being stolen in a while, did all the car theives take up something more profitable? like politics?

rfreeman27

isamu

Published: Saturday, October 7, 2006



Thief may have stolen 136 vehicles

Seattle police say man took cars because he just liked to drive



Associated Press















SEATTLE - A man who Seattle police allege may have stolen at least 136 vehicles in six months wasn't doing it for the money or because he needed a ride, officers say - he just liked to drive.



"He'd just drive around, deciding to go to Kenmore or Tukwila one day. He needed to get from Point A to Point B - he enjoyed driving," the undercover detective who investigated the case told a Seattle newspaper. Police have requested the detective not be identified because of ongoing undercover work.



Liam Moynihan, 23, was charged Thursday in King County Superior Court with 25 counts of first-degree theft. Prosecutors have evidence tying Moynihan to 136 thefts from November 2005 to May 2006 and he has admitted to another 17 thefts that could not be matched to police reports, court papers said.



Moynihan often took cars and returned them to a few north Seattle neighborhoods, the undercover detective said, adding that he sometimes drove 200 miles a day, stealing an average of five cars a week. Some days he would drive one car until it ran out of gas and then pick up a replacement, the detective said.



"He was a nice kid, very forthright, intelligent. But he knew how to do this certain thing, and he was good at it," the detective said.



King County prosecutor Norm Maleng said he plans to pursue an exceptional sentence of 10 years to send a message to other car thieves. The maximum sentence range for the charges would normally be 31/2 to 5 years. A jury would have to agree that the crime had aggravating factors to award the higher sentence.



Maleng said car theft is one of the issues people in Seattle are most concerned about. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue region ranked as the sixth worst urban area in the United States for car theft in 2005, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.



Moynihan's criminal history stretches back to his juvenile years, including charges of assault, residential burglary, possession of stolen property and malicious mischief, court papers said.



While in jail after being arrested in May, the undercover detective encouraged him to talk about his escapades.



He remembered minute details about his thefts, taking them on several "field trips" throughout the city and pointing out places where he had stolen, attempted to steal, or dumped already-stolen cars, Maleng said. He shared his stories in exchange for a few cheeseburgers and the opportunity to smoke some cigarettes outside the jail, the prosecutor said.



"It was mind-boggling that a person had that type of memory," the detective said. "He was bothered by what he'd done, but he didn't think there was any way out."



According to the charging papers, Moynihan used a screwdriver and hammer to pry open the windows of cars, and once inside, get into the steering columns and break the ignition locks. He then used the screwdriver to start the engines.



Moynihan is being held in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

ExplicitRotary

Thats crazy stuff, i never even heard about his escapades. Anyone know anyone who had a car stolen? Hopefully he snagged some nice cars in his day

RONIN FC

Back in the day cars would get stolen for joyrides. Then found with after a beating was put on em. Now they get stolen by pros for parts, or "stolen" for insurance claims. Cars to worry about most are cars with more or expensive airbags. And motor swap cars, including the Honda CR-V.



The chances of your car coming back in one piece after bieng stolen are getting slim.

j9fd3s

thats good, you prolly dont want it back...

j9fd3s

i dont even lock my 1st gens, or put it another way they are so easy to break into, theres no point.

sexycheerleader

my roommate just got his 94 Saturn stolen and all of us are like "Who steals a 94 Saturn?" We think a crackhead did it.

cymfc3s

what about your friend who had his protege stolen out of the service department?

j9fd3s

thats 2001... but its a funny story.



friend of mine from K-12th grade walks in, we hadn't seen each other in years



so he had just bought a 2001 protege, and it pulled so he brought it back for an alignment, at like 5pm.



so we park it and go home



next morning we're looking for the car and we cant find it. we call the alignment place, they didnt have it.



we call the owner, he didnt take it.



so the service manager, frank, is like, hey you know him you call him and tell him his car's gone...





the car turns up a couple weeks later, in perfect condition, but with about 1500 more miles on it, new car dealer plates, drug running anyone?



i think he's still got it