Unusual theft targets keys, titles at Omaha car dealership

OMAHA, Neb. — A local used car dealership is dealing with an unusual theft, car keys and ownership titles. 

The incident happened at Apple Auto Sales, near 42nd and L streets last week. 

Have you ever heard of thieves stealing car keys and titles instead of the cars themselves? That’s exactly what happened at this Omaha used car lot, something general manager Mike Erickson says he has never experienced in his 25 years at the business.

“One guy tricked me into going outside to show him a car,” Erickson said. “While I was gone, his friend came in through the back door dressed all in black and took all the car keys from the drawer.”

At the time, Erickson was also processing vehicle titles for cars brought in from other states. Those documents were inside a folder on his desk.

“He also took the vehicle titles I was working on and ran out,” Erickson said.

By the time Erickson realized what had happened, both suspects were gone. Police have not been able to locate them. Investigators did recover surveillance video, even though the suspects attempted to disable the cameras by cutting the cables.

The footage shows one suspect entering the building and another leaving with the stolen items. Dealership staff say they are now concerned the suspects could return to steal vehicles.

Because of the theft, the business has taken several precautionary steps.

“We’ve had to make new keys for the cars, move several vehicles to another location, and request duplicate titles,” Erickson said. “The original titles are no longer valid.”

Those measures come at a cost, one that may be passed on to customers.

“It’s very hard to cover the cost of replacing all the titles and keys,” Erickson said. “Titles and everything else are expensive, so now we have to add that cost to the price of each vehicle.”

The owners of Apple Auto Sales are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification or capture of the suspects.