STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — Police are stepping up patrols after the wheels were stolen from five cars near the University of Connecticut Storrs campus. Four vehicles at the Hilltop Apartments and one at the Celeron Apartments were targeted at some point late Thursday or early Friday. Manav Puri’s car, which he had parked in a resident parking lot at the Hilltop Apartments, was one of them.
“My first thought was oh my goodness. What do I do?” Puri said.
On Friday morning he got a phone call from police; it was about his Honda Accord. He had been studying for midterms when he got the call.
“I was in just shock because I’d seen my car literally standing on soda containers,” Puri said. “The timing of this was absolutely horrible because I had an exam that day that I was feeling very worried about.”
Sources say several of the targeted cars were Hondas. UConn staff say this type of crime is very unusual.
There are ways you can protect your car, however. Repair shops recommend using wheel locks to protect your vehicle, but there’s no guarantee your car will be safe. Puri had wheel locks on his car, but he still thinks they are worth having.
“The key to your wheel locks, don’t make the mistake I made by keeping them in the glove compartment,” said Puri.
That’s why the thieves smashed Puri’s window when they really wanted his wheels. It’s something Puri had been warned about when he bought he car.
“They told me be very careful because the rims I had on my car, they’re very popular and they’re getting stolen like crazy,” he said.
UConn police are asking anyone with any information to give them a call at (860) 486-4800.
