Patient Car Thief Waited Hours To Drive Away: Cops

Tampa, FL — Patience is a virtue even car thieves can appreciate.

At least, that seems to have been the case for one accused Tampa car thief last week. The man now wanted by Tampa Police waited inside a stolen vehicle for 2 ½ hours before taking off in the hot ride, police wrote in an email to media.

The crime in question unfolded between 3 and 6 a.m. June 23 at the Pierhouse at Channelside apartments. Police say a man went into the gated parking garage at the 1226 E. Cumberland Ave. apartment complex and found an unlocked Nissan Rogue. Also finding a key and key fob left inside the vehicle, the man decided to go for a spin.

That spin, however, did require some waiting … and waiting.

“The suspect waited approximately two and a half hours for a resident to exit the gated area so that he could follow behind them in the stolen vehicle,” the department’s email said.

The Rogue was found abandoned about three hours later in the 2700 block of 11th Avenue, police said. The patient thief, however, remains at large.

Anyone who recognizes the man in the video is asked to contact the police department via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS. A tip that leads to an arrest in the case could be worth up to $3,000.

Video and screenshot courtesy of the Tampa Police Department