Wheel theft on the rise in Hayward

By Thania Arce, CONTRIBUTOR

Thieves in the Hayward area are targeting car tires and rims, particularly from Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys.
Hayward residents are on high alert after reported incidents of wheel theft. Apartment complexes seem to be a hotspot for this crime according to reports from victims.
Jorge Aguilar, who resided at an apartment complex in Hayward was a victim of this crime in early Nov. 2018. He decided to move back to Fremont right after the incident.
“I woke up one day to find my Accord sitting on cinder blocks with all tires gone,” Aguilar said. “I didn’t feel safe especially at night. I couldn’t sleep… I was too worried about what else they could do.”
Newer models of Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys are popular targets since the rims and tires have a more sophisticated look and are easily sellable and easy to remove.
“Newer model Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys especially have 19 inch wheels that look nice and are ‘low profile,’” said Jose Hernandez, an employee at Wheel Works in Hayward.
The entire process of taking off the wheels from a car is fairly simple and could take less than 20 minutes with the right tools.
“People who do this likely carry a portable impact gun that hardly makes any noise and can remove the wheels easily in about 15 minutes,” said Hernandez.
Crime Analyst Danny Ebarvia from the Hayward Police Department says that most people do not report crimes such as these, because they do not think anything can be solved.
“If we had more reported incidents, it would be easier for us to find a pattern in order to track the people who are committing these type of crimes,” Ebarvia said in an interview.
In Aguilar’s case, his wheels and tires were covered by insurance but the price on his invoice indicated $3,200.
“The value of the tires without the rims go for $400 each,” said Chris from Hayward Tire Pros.
Even though thieves could still take the tires and rims with wheel locks on them, the locks could still prevent them from getting stolen.
“The wheel locks will take more time to take off and will surely draw more attention than if they didn’t have them,” said Hernandez.