License plate thefts in Bradenton? Couple’s Tesla records crime while they were out to eat
A Bradenton couple was surprised recently to find their license plate missing after returning home from a restaurant in their new car, and law enforcement officials say the crime is widespread in Manatee County.
Carol Burdelik, 57, said it’s a “bizarre” situation to be in. While in a restaurant off of State Road 70 with her husband, two men in a white SUV backed into space next to their their brand new Tesla Y Performance and stole the license plate.
“It kind of shook me up because I couldn’t believe somebody would do this,” Burdelik said, “especially in an area where we live not too far from home, one exit away from our house.”
Burdelik and her husband purchased the Tesla only three days prior and were glad they turned on the car’s sentry mode, a Tesla safety feature that records and notifies owners of unusual activities surrounding their vehicle.
“I was thankful that this car had eight cameras with so many angles to identify who did it,” she said. “Like, wow, we could totally see both their faces and exactly what they did.”
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. David Byington, the property division’s lead criminal investigator, told the Bradenton Herald that license plate thefts are very common in Manatee County and they can happen anywhere.
The thefts are linked to “car-hopping,” a crime in which a group of people go from car to car looking for one that is unlocked in order to steal it. Next, they will steal a tag to put on the stolen car in an attempt to flee the area while avoiding being detected by toll cameras or law enforcement.
Randy Warren, the public information officer for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, told the Bradenton Herald, that the Burdelik’s tag information had been submitted to state and national databases. If the stolen plate is being used on another vehicle, it will likely be spotted by a license plate reader (LPR).
‘We were shocked’
In the video, the men can be seen using a tiny drill to remove the couple’s license plate before quickly speeding off. They didn’t realize the plate was gone until they arrived back home and checked the vehicle’s footage.
“We were shocked when we saw this guy get out of his car, get out his little lit-up drill and take our plate in less than a minute,” Burdelik said.
She thought she was protecting her new Tesla by backing into a space away from other vehicles and parking near a bush with an open space on the opposite side, but she realized it made it easier for the men to get away with her plate.
The men in the white SUV backed into the space next to theirs, opening the passenger door on their truck to block the view of others passing by. One man removed the plate while the other sat in the passenger seat.
Wanting to warn others of what happened to her, Burdelik posted about her experience on Nextdoor, a social media platform that allows neighbors to connect within the community.
She found out that Doris Ramirez Nessetti, her doctor, had her customized license plate stolen a few days later, only a 6-minute drive from the restaurant where the Burdeliks’ tag had been stolen.
Nessetti’s husband, who is also a doctor, parked the couple’s Ford Explorer in the parking lot of their family-owned medical practice on State Road 70 near the Walmart.
“My husband only drives from the house to our office on Thursday he parked out in front of the building,” Nessetti said. “We happened to go on vacation Friday, and when we went to the airport that morning, we noticed the license plate was gone.”
Nessetti is in the process of having her plate replaced. She didn’t have cameras facing where her truck was parked.
Going forward, Nessetti said, she’ll park closer to building and parking lot cameras and use anti-theft license plate screws to prevent her plate from being taken again.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at (941) 747-301, or to remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, contact Manatee Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477 (TIPS)
How to prevent your license plate from being stolen
Here are tips from Byington on how to avoid license plate theft:
- Buy anti-theft license plate screws
- Secure your license plate with four bolts rather than two
- Avoid parking in spaces near shrubbery
- In public areas, park in an open area or near a business with cameras
- At home, park in the garage or back in your truck or car as close as possible to the garage door
