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Car Lot Owner Gives Thief Chance To Return Wheels

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

Allen Stathas, owner of Cars Unlimited, placed two signs in front of his business in hopes of retrieving a set of wheels and tires that were stolen Monday.

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 12, 2008

TAMPA - The signs Allen Stathas stuck in the grass outside his used-car dealership promise a good deal for someone who doesn't want to go to jail.

"Foolish thieves: We have you on camera," the signs read in all-capital letters. "Return the wheels and tires by Friday!"

Don't laugh, says Stathas, of Cars Unlimited. This tactic worked in the past when the business at 201 W. Fletcher Ave. was vandalized.

"Everyone reads the signs. Even the thieves do," Stathas, 49, said this morning. "He's gonna get nailed for this, and it would be wise to just bring the tires and wheels back and move on."

Stathas has been in business on Fletcher Avenue for about 10 years. When he opened for business Monday, he discovered someone had swiped $3,000 worth of tires and wheels from a bright-red Dodge Ram 2500 he just acquired last week, leaving the three-quarter-ton truck on blocks.

Stathas said he reported the theft to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and provided video from the lot's security cameras. The video shows a man first scoping out the truck, with his face in plain view, then returning hours later for the goods, he said.

Then Stathas called the sign company down the road and said, "I need you to do something unique for me."

The company printed the signs that afternoon, and Stathas stuck them along the roadside that night. They cost $60, a decent investment if the tires and wheels are returned, he said. The 35-inch tires need eight lug nuts for support. He replaced them on the truck today.

A similar curbside appeal worked two years ago when a teenager vandalized several cars on the lot, smashing radios, Stathas said.

"We put a $10,000 reward out for his arrest and conviction, and a friend turned him in. Didn't take two days. He's paying us back," he said.

Whether the current bandit is a professional thief or just someone financially desperate, Stathas said he wants to give the man a chance to come clean. He may leave the tires and wheels at the business overnight or have a friend drop them off, "any way they want," Stathas said.

"I'm not interested in having someone go to jail for this, if they return them."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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