COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Several customers are feeling frustrated after their vehicles were stolen from a private, off-site parking lot near the Denver International Airport over the past few months.
The Commerce City Police Department responded to 12 incidents at the Canopy Airport Parking in August — four auto theft reports, six thefts from vehicles or trespassing and two reports of suspicious activity.
David Main thought his 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor had all the updated security features to keep it safe while he was on vacation. Turns out, he was wrong.
“I'm like looking around. I'm like, 'It's not here. How is that possible?'” said Main. "I pull out my phone and I’m like, 'Find my truck. Find my truck. Find my truck.' And it shows me where the AirTag was last seen."
Main reported the theft to police and filed a report. Surveillance video shows the truck leaving the lot with an unknown person behind the wheel.
Main thought his truck would've been next to impossible to steal, especially since he had the key fob with him the whole time.
"The ignition won't work without the truck having been unlocked. You can't take the parking lever out of park without the engine running,” said Main. “It even has internal motion sensors.”
The Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force (C-MATT) said the smarter the car is, the easier it is for thieves to break through the security features. That's why, authorities said, it's so important to take preventative measures to make sure your car isn't stolen.
C-MATT urges drivers to buy one or more safety devices, such as a steering wheel lock, a wheel lock or boot, a lock to cover the on-board diagnostics port or an after-market kill switch.
Regan Denney's 2013 Dodge Dart was stolen from the same lot back in May. She said Propark, which owns and operates the lot, could do a better job with safety and security.
"There are lighting fixtures pulled completely out of the ground, with wires hanging out. So the lighting in the parking lot is very poor,” said Denney. “There's probably 10 security arms, and maybe one or two were functioning.”
Commerce City police said at last check, the facility has one camera outside the parking garage and no security. The department said it has extra patrols there. One officer even received a card to enter the facility and perform those patrols, Commerce PD said.
Propark told Denver7 it's fully committed to addressing issues effectively and will continue to work closely with local law enforcement toward a resolution.
Main said he’s learned from this experience.
“Don't park your car out at DIA. No lot seems to be safe,” he said.
Main’s truck has yet to be recovered. He's working with insurance as far as next steps.
C-MATT said Ford F-150 Raptors are very common to steal. The task force said it had a conversation with Ford about the model a few weeks ago, and Ford told them they're working on updating security features for that model.
Commerce City police said in July, because of catalytic convert theft at the lot, investigative techs performed a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and made several recommendations to Propark.
