Gang raids car dealership, sparks chase

SANTA FE (KRQE) - Santa Fe police are looking for a gang of car thieves who took five vehicles from a dealership for more than just a test drive overnight.

An observant officer spotted one of the cars driving off the lot leading to a chase down Interstate 25 and the discovery investigators had a huge auto-theft case on their hands.

"At the Waldo exit, he stopped the vehicle, got out and fled on foot," Capt. Aric Wheeler of the Santa Fe Police Department said.

The suspect got away, and investigators soon discovered the car was from Sierra Santa Fe Buick GMC where four other cars were taken sometime during the night.

Police are still looking for a black Mitsubishi Lancer, silver Jeep Wrangler, silver Toyota Cruiser and maroon Chevrolet Colorado.

Wheeler said from the one car detectives have, it doesn't appear the thieves had to break any windows to steal the cars.

"Car dealerships ... have lock boxes that they place on the windows," Wheeler said.  "It's also possible that somebody has the ability to get into one of those lock boxes with a master key or some other type of prying mechanism."

The heist caught the attention of the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association.  NMADA President Charles Henson said whoever did this will have a hard time getting away.

"It is a bit overwhelming when you see five cars," Henson said.  "Fortunately our dealers have put in place measures to track cars, and I know that we'll be on these automobiles pretty quickly."

Dealership owner Brad Furry told KRQE News 13 detectives have assured him this was likely not an inside job.

SFPD has alerted night patrol officers to keep a closer watch on car dealerships.