Mechanic snares would-be car thieves

Web posted Saturday, December 23, 2000

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - A group of boys had a plan.

An Aiken mechanic had a better one.

Armed with a set of keys taken from Wayne McCord's unlocked vehicle the day before, a group of boys returned to Meineke Discount Mufflers on Richland Avenue after dark Thursday to steal the parked car and go joy riding, police say.

That's where the car owner was waiting to pounce. And he essentially hand-delivered the group to police.

Investigators say they have tied the three juveniles to a rash of car thefts in the Aiken area. The boys - ages 12, 14 and 16 - face charges in five grand larcenies and three vehicle break-ins. Police say the boys would drive the vehicles for several hours and then abandon them.

All Mr. McCord wanted was his keys back.

``Actually, I didn't care if I caught them or not,'' Mr. McCord said Friday. ``Whatever means was necessary to get my keys back, that's what I was willing to do.''

On Wednesday, the 27-year-old shop foreman discovered his keys missing from inside his 1995 GMC Yukon. He knew two other cars had disappeared from the Meineke parking lot just a day or two after the keys were stolen.

He wasn't about to become the third.

``I told my wife, if I had to stay all night ... I needed my keys back,'' said Mr. McCord, who commutes from Trenton.

With lights off and the parking lot dark, Mr. McCord waited inside the Aiken shop with his 17-year-old daughter.

At about 8:30 p.m., Mr. McCord saw a group of boys walk by the vehicle. ``I knew something was wrong,'' he said. ``Sure enough, two of the boys came back and jumped in the car.''

As Mr. McCord came running from the business pointing a .38-caliber revolver, the two boys tried to start the car, not knowing the vehicle's owner had taken out the coil wire needed to crank the engine.

``When I walked out of the door and told them to get out of the car, they were still trying to start it up,'' Mr. McCord said, laughing.

The 16-year-old in the driver's seat ran away, ignoring orders to stop. But the 12-year-old boy - just 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 70 pounds - heeded the advice of the armed man.

``Once I opened the (car) door, and he came out, I just went ahead and threw him on the ground and sat on him,'' he said. ``I told my daughter to call 911.''

Officers with the Aiken Department of Public Safety were able to locate the 16-year-old on a nearby street. And a third juvenile identified by the other suspects was located and arrested in connection with other car thefts.

The boys were carrying two key rings that held several sets of car keys from other stolen vehicles, police said.

The 16-year-old was arrested and taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia. The other two were released to parents. Police cannot release their identities because of their ages.

All of the boys have had trouble with the law before, police said.

Asked about Mr. McCord's adventurous night, police spokesman David Turno issued the ``don't do this at home'' speech, saying Mr. McCord should have called police from inside the shop and let officers confront the suspects.

``We have bulletproof vests. We have training. This is our job to handle this type of situation,'' he said. ``It's just fortunate that it worked out for him. But I don't think we would encourage that.''

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 648-1395.

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