Thieves Resort To Stealing Tailgates In Birmingham
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: January 25, 2011
It's something that most people don't think of.
"I had no idea they were stealing gates off the truck," Lennell Myricks said.
"It wouldn't have been something I would have ever thought of," Cedric Mason said.
"I really wasn't worried about it until you were telling me about the theft," Sharon Case said.
These truck owners are shocked to hear that some thieves have resorted to stealing tailgates.
"If you look at any pickup truck tailgate, you'll realize it isn't that involved to take off," Hoover Police Captain Jim Coker said.
Coker says in the past two weeks six tailgates have been stolen in Hoover.
"This tells me that we have some unscrupulous body shops out there who don't mind buying a car part," he said.
But it's not just Hoover.
Coker says a handful of areas around metro Birmingham have reported the same thing.
Coker says the tailgates are valued anywhere from $500 to $2,000.
So now people are wondering how to stop it.
Coker says there are a couple of tips that might help. First he says to always lock the tailgate. He also suggests engraving the vehicle identification number onto the tailgate, which would make it easier to track.
