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WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley City woman wants her stolen car back, and she believes a man caught in surveillance video may be the key to solving her heist as well as other recent thefts.
Ashlee Gordon and her fiancé, Jared Wilkinson, had their car taken in broad daylight Saturday from her apartment complex near 4700 South and 3900 West. It happened shortly before the couple were going to celebrate Gordon's birthday.
The red Nissan Sentra is one of three cars to vanish from the parking lot in the past two weeks, West Valley City Police Sgt. Jason Hauer confirmed. Hauer also said all the cars stolen to date appear to be Nissans.
"Basically, I feel vulnerable," Gordon said on Tuesday.
Fortunately, Gordon is armed with surveillance video she obtained from the apartment complex that shows a man in an orange work vest appearing to case around the parking lot.
Before walking out of the picture, the man looks directly at the surveillance camera and flashes a "peace" sign with his fingers. Just a couple minutes later, the video shows somebody driving away in Gordon's car.
"He was basically telling the camera, 'Hey, look at me! And I'm going to take your car,' " Gordon said of the video footage.
He was basically telling the camera, 'Hey, look at me! And I'm going to take your car.'
–Ashlee Gordon, victim
While the moment of the heist is not captured on camera, Gordon said she believes the man in the orange vest may be the thief himself. Hauer said police had not yet reviewed the video, but investigators were interested in what it showed.
Preliminarily, Hauer said it appeared the thefts may be connected. It's not uncommon, he said, for car thieves to return to the same well time and again.
"They're going to places where they feel comfortable and where they've maybe done it before and gotten away with it," Hauer said.
Neighbors in the apartment complex described other recent burglaries and theft attempts.
Maribel Ortega said her car is now sitting in the lot inoperable because somebody appeared to use a screwdriver to tamper with the ignition switch and the tool broke in the switch. She said some of the contents of the car were stolen, including her realtor's licenses in Florida and Puerto Rico.
"Everything was a mess in my car," she said.
Hauer said that unlike popularly depicted, car thieves actually are more likely to steal older cars than the hottest rides.
"With those types of vehicles — the mid-90s vehicles — they are highly targeted by suspects," Hauer said. "They are a little bit easier to break into."
Gordon is hoping the surveillance video will help generate leads.
"Wearing a bright orange vest?" Gordon exclaimed. "I mean, you're going to be noticed somewhere."
Gordon said a fourth stolen vehicle — a Nissan truck — was spotted by officers in her lot Tuesday afternoon. She said an officer told her it came from a nearby residence. Hauer was not able to immediately confirm the find.
Gordon's red Nissan Sentra has Utah license plate number Z922ZK. Hauer said anybody with information should call West Valley City Police dispatch at 801-840-4000.
