GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — Three classic cars were stolen from a local auto repair shop and now the owner is asking the public to help get them back.
One car was recovered, but he is now offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can help find the other two.
“All three of these cars are worth some serious money, even in the shape they were in. The Chevelle as a roller, I mean it was still a $10,000 car.”
Abe Hamed owns an auto repair business, Inshi Automotive, but his passion is restoring classic cars.
“It’s a hobby we have. It’s our passion and love. We want to get these cars on the road and enjoy them,” said Hamed.
Hamed said at about 7 a.m. on Thursday, his security company called to inform him that the power was out at his shop on Broadway Avenue in Garfield Heights. When he arrived, he noticed his gate was damaged and a car that should have been inside the gate was outside of it.
“It’s a sliding gate and the gate was bent outward, like off its tracks,” he said.
But Hamed was heartbroken when he walked into his back lot. Three classic cars he was restoring had been stolen: a gold 1972 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a green 1972 Chevy Chevelle and a black 1978 Pontiac Trans Am — all valued between $60,000 and $80,000, according to Hamed.
“The ’78 Pontiac — that had to have been towed out; there’s no way they got that car running. But the Coupe de Ville they, in fact, got running and they drove it out of there,” he said.
Hamed believes the theft happened at about 1:30 a.m., judging by his security system, which caught just the beginning of the heist.
“We restored the power to the building and we saw the security cameras, a U-Haul van pulling up to the shop and shortly after, a guy hops out and runs around the back and the cameras cut out. So that’s when the DVR stopped recording,” he said.
Hamed said there were car parts scattered around the lot and indications that the thieves tried to get inside the business as well.
“These guys were very sophisticated. They knew what they were doing. They’ve been scoping the cars out for awhile, and I want answers. I want to know where these guys are and where my cars are,” said Hamed.
A tip from an online post led Hamed and Garfield Heights police to the stolen Cadillac, which had apparently run out of gas on a Cleveland street.
Now, he just wants his other two cars back, and said he takes this theft personally.
“If you work a job you love, you never work a day in your life, so that’s what we’re trying to do. And they just took our passion away from us,” said Hamed.
Back in December, Cleveland and Rocky River police busted a chop shop on Cleveland’s west side. They recovered several “classic” cars that had been stolen in Rocky River in November.
There’s no word on whether this case is related.
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