Thieves Caught On Tape Stealing 7 Audi Vehicles From A Car Dealership

• published: 01 Jan 2016
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Four suspects stole seven Audi vehicles from a car dealership in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood early Wednesday morning, police said. The burglary was reported at about 12:40 a.m. at Royal Automotive Group, located in the 1500 block of Howard Street, police said. “They obviously knew what they were doing,” said Erich Christjansen, the dealership’s manager. “They obviously were very efficient at their art.” Christjansen estimates the loss is upwards of $420,000. Two of the stolen cars belong to customers and the other five are dealership owned. According to police, the four suspects drove up in a Lexus SUV and one cut the main lock to the gate of the business. The suspect then drilled through the lock to the storage area, went to where the keys to cars are stored and took some keys along with tools, police said. The suspects then drove multiple cars worth “several hundreds of thousands of dollars” off the lot, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said. The suspects remain at large as of this morning, Esparza said. One male suspect is described as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and had a mustache, while the second wore a light-colored shirt and had a thin build and the third wore a baseball cap, a dark zip-up sweatshirt and is heavy-set, Esparza said. The female suspect was described as being heavy-set and wearing a light-colored Nike hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and glasses, he said. Esparza said police have surveillance footage from the scene and are continuing to investigate the burglary. Part of the investigation will be interviewing employees, who may know who is responsible. “Someone had to have known or had information on where these keys are kept,” Esparza said. While police follow leads, Christjansen said the dealership will review security protocols to avoid being targeted again. “You feel very violated,” he said. “You feel very helpless at the same time.”