UPDATE: On January 24, sources told Lauren Edwards that the stolen truck used by the suspects to rob Priced Right Auto was recovered in Elkhart, Indiana.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a break-in and theft that happened at Priced Right Auto early Wednesday morning. The owner of the shop said a group broke in and stole a $20,000 vehicle.
“It was about 5:30 a.m. Four individuals rolled in in a blue Chevy pick-up truck that we now found out is stolen,” said Sam Vos during an interview with FOX 17 on Thursday. “They had rocks or some sort of object in their hands. [They] threw it through the window of our service bay, climbed through the window. One of them actually punched the window to get the rest of the glass out, which did result in them leaving some blood around the dealership.”
Vos, who is the human resources and marketing director, said as soon they walked in, one person immediately went to the cash register and pulled out wads of cash.
Vos said they only had $100 in there, but within four minutes of breaking in, the group drove away with the vehicle.
“Then they found a trade-in vehicle — a Ford Edge — that was traded in earlier that day,” Vos said. “We left the keys on a salesman desk because it happened so late at night. And, they saw those keys, grabbed the keys, [and] took off in the vehicle.”
Later that morning, when technicians arrived, they saw the damage and let the owners know. They filed a police report and got word out on social media about what happened.
They also gave detectives the surveillance video so they could get a good look at the group, who Vos said was wearing gray hoodies, adidas shoes, and other name brand shoes.
“Part of us thinks it might be a previous service customer based on how they interacted in the dealership that night,” Vos said. “Looking back at the footage, we noticed that they opened the door, didn’t look at the door [and] knew that that door prompted an automatic light to turn on. It looked like they knew right where the cash drawer was.”
Vos also mentioned that additional break-ins happened earlier that night. However, the owner said he didn’t know if it was connected to the stolen vehicle incident.
FOX 17 reached out to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s office on Thursday afternoon. They gave no update on the case, but said that it was on-going.
Priced Right Auto is asking anyone with tips to please reach out to the sheriff’s office as soon as possible.
“Priced Right Auto has been serving West Michigan for more than 30 years,” Vos said. “We pride ourselves on being the dealership that cares for the community and cares for people. So, while an instance like this does break our heart, we’re going to continue on with business as usual.”
***Ottawa County Sheriff 's Office: 616-738-4000***
