8 cars stolen from Arlington Heights collision shop

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., — Police in Arlington Heights are looking for a group of thieves who robbed at least two body shops last week.

Arlington Heights Collision was broken into by a group of thieves who stole five vehicles the same night vehicles were also stolen from another body shop less than a mile away.

Police said they believe it’s one group of people targeting these shops in the area.

Surveillance videos show the moment the thieves broke into the shop around 3 a.m. on Dec. 7 near Euclid and Northwest Highway.

The thieves ran around the showroom and body shop before driving five high-end vehicles off the property.

The owner, Mark Surowaniec, said the whole heist happened in just eight minutes.

An alarm was triggered when the offenders broke in and just about two minutes after they drove off, police arrived on the scene.

Surowaniec said the customers whose vehicles were stolen were understanding, but the whole ordeal is hard on his business.

“We’re doing all this stuff to make these cars better and to make the customers feel safe that they are leaving those expensive nice cars with us in our hands, so it’s very frustrating to have people come in grabbing, and destroying other people’s property,” he said.

Nearby, Gerber Collision was also targeted the same night. Four vehicles were stolen from there.

Two nights later, police said a vehicle was stolen from a dealership, but as of now, they believe it is unrelated.

But it brings the total to 10 vehicles stolen in 10 days in the community. Two vehicles have since been recovered but were damaged.

Police are working to get evidence from those cars to help in the investigation.