A Jeep found by Ontario police in a shipping container has been traced to its owner after the vehicle was stolen from a driveway over the weekend.
This wasn’t the first attempted theft of a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee in Scarborough. “There are two separate incidents,” said the owner’s son, Andrew Ricketts.
A man is seen honking the horn of a Jeep during a burglary captured by a home surveillance camera on July 10, 2022 (Supplied). In surveillance footage obtained by CTV News Toronto, the two incidents — just over two months apart — can be seen in full.
A ring camera installed outside the garage, along with a motion sensor, alerted his parents that someone was in their driveway on May 8. When they checked the app, they saw two men. One of them was on his knees honking the truck’s horn to stop the car door alarm.
To scare the two men, Ricketts said his parents set off the alarm, which was broadcast through a microphone outside the house. They immediately fled the scene.
The second attempt was on Sunday. “They got a little smarter this time,” Ricketts said.
Two men arrived again, but this time they came at 6 am, after the sun had risen. In this way, the house’s motion sensors were turned off because they are only active at night.
A man started cutting the car’s horn, which the owner had fixed after the last attempt. During this time, the second man was standing by the curb smoking a cigarette.
“They obviously have some kind of computer system to bypass the keyless start of the car,” Ricketts said. “And then they drove off.”
Around 8:30 a.m., when Ricketts’ father left the house to get breakfast, he discovered his car was gone. That day they filed their second police report after the first just weeks earlier.
A day later, on Monday evening, Ricketts saw a tweet from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) that read: “Mississauga OPP reported possible stolen vehicles in an intermodal container. Truck stopped on Highway 427/ Rexdale. Truck driver charged with possession of stolen property x2. They found a stolen Range Rover and a Jeep Cherokee. The investigation is ongoing.”
#MississaugaOPP notified of possible stolen vehicles in intermodal container. Truck stopped on #Hwy427/Rexdale. Truck driver charged with possession of stolen property x2. They found a stolen Range Rover and a Jeep Cherokee. The investigation continues. pic.twitter.com/FxUKEIjHFI
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) July 12, 2022
Ricketts immediately identified his parents’ SUV, and it wasn’t long before police contacted them to say their car had been found. The OPP confirmed to CTV News Toronto that the SUV was indeed owned by the Ricketts.
“It’s very scary,” Ricketts said. “This is a complete violation.”
“You buy a truck, park it in your driveway, and some thief comes in the night.”
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