Organized Thieves Steal Keys, 5 Luxury Autos From San Jose Dealership

San Jose police are looking for suspects in the organized nighttime theft last Friday of five vehicles from a luxury automobile dealership in west San Jose, a police spokesman said today.

At 10:23 a.m. Friday, police responded to a report about a burglary and car thefts in the 3800 block of Stevens Creek Boulevard near Saratoga Avenue, police Officer Albert Morales said.

Farzan Vassigh, the general sales manager for Formula 1 Motors at 3896 Steven Creek Blvd., confirmed that a group of up to eight suspects broke into his business at 3:35 a.m. Friday, based on surveillance video of the robbery.

The suspects appeared to have a sophisticated plan that included casing the dealership while in two or three cars.

One suspect kicked in a window of the business without the alarm sounding and disappeared for about 20 minutes, Vassigh said.

“They broke the (alarm) system,” Vassigh said.

At least one suspect then brought out a board containing more than 40 keys to the dealers’ cars and other suspects joined in as the keys were strewn on the ground, picked up and specific cars targeted, he said.

“They were so organized, that’s the way they did it,” Vassigh said.

The group of suspects used the keys to drive away in five new, high-end vehicles, each the highest priced models with the fewest miles on the odometer, he said.

The makes of the stolen vehicles included two supercharged Range Rover SUVs, a BMW, Mercedes-Benz and a Porsche, he said.

The suspects also left with keys to other vehicles still at the lot, leaving them vulnerable to future thefts, Vassigh said. He estimated the loss for the business, including the stolen autos and keys, at $200,000 to $300,000.

The dealership has ordered many new keys and put in a chain around the cars displayed at the business, Vassigh said.

Managers watched the surveillance video of the robbery with police, according to Vassigh. The dealership has no reason to believe any current or former employees were responsible for the robbery, he said.

Formula 1 Motors specializes in luxury autos, mostly ones from Europe, he said.

The suspects remain at large, according to Morales.

[A weekend theft of cars was also reported from a dealership in Belmont. Story here: At Least Nine Cars Stolen from Belmont Auto Dealership in Weekend Heist.]

--Image via Shutterstock

--Bay City News