Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle says a nationwide uptick in thefts of GMC and Chevrolet vehicles has now impacted local residents. Over a two-week span, thieves targeted the Tavola neighborhood three times, bringing the number of thefts to eight in that community. The stolen vehicles included five GMC Denalis and three Chevrolet Silverados, which were among more than 40 such thefts in East Montgomery County, according to Chief Carlisle. This string of thefts has caused Carlisle to make adjustments, he said, adding overtime hours for increased strategic patrol, and even canceling some vacations. What’s more, Chief Carlisle himself is providing extra patrol and was personally out patrolling Friday night.
Chief Carlisle said the increased patrol should be a deterrent, but vehicle owners need to be aware of the situation and take steps to reduce their risk of becoming victims. Chief Carlisle took to social media Friday to address the thefts and suggest preventative measures, posting the following:
WARNING: GMC Denali, especially Sierra models, and Chevrolet Silverado thefts are surging nationwide, especially in Texas, due to tech-savvy thieves exploiting weaknesses in keyless systems with devices to clone signals or reprogram keys via the OBD port, allowing them to steal trucks in under a minute by swapping ECUs or using cloned fobs.
Unfortunately, this trend is no longer just a national issue, it has reached us here in Montgomery County. Several neighborhoods along the IH69/Hwy 59 corridor in East Montgomery County, including Tavola, have reported over 40 GMC and Chevrolet Truck thefts in the past 2 weeks. 8 were reported to RFPD that were stolen out of Tavola.
RFPD is working closely with Montgomery County Auto Theft Task Force to solve current cases and prevent further thefts. But there are things our residents can do to help.
RFPD recommends our residents to:
Use aftermarket anti-theft devices (steering wheel locks, kill switches, GPS trackers)
Keep vehicles locked and remove key fobs
Park in well-lit areas or garages
Get software updates from dealers to protect against these high-tech thefts
Ensure home security cameras cover the driveway, sidewalk, and street and know how to operate and download videos
If you spot suspicious people or vehicles overnight, call dispatch immediately at 936-538-5900 option 2.
One of the dumbest things automakers did was the keyless start system. And car thieves love it. So if you have one of these systems, you must spend even more money to install additional anti-theft devices. What a concept!