NORFOLK, Va. — Stolen cars continue to be an issue across Hampton Roads.
So far in 2023, there have been 1,238 reported incidents involving stolen cars in the city with 89 of the incidents leading to an arrest being made, according to the a police department spokesperson.
Still, more and more of the cases are winding up in court, according to Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi.
"Anybody who steals a car faces a felony and faces the possibility of years in prison potentially. People have to remember that this isn't joking around," Fatehi said.
Recently, a man namedDa'quan Cherry was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for stealing a pickup truck earlier this year, which was on the higher end of his sentencing guidelines as he had multiple previous felony convictions.
"When you steal a car, you are messing up somebody's life. People rely on their cars to get back and forth. It's not a victimless crime," said Fatehi.
Fatehi blames the increase in stolen cars on people not locking up their cars, especially if they're keyless, and on design problems in certain models of Hyundais or Kias that make them easier to steal.
Another man was recently convicted of stealing a Kia.
During a recent crime stats presentation, Police Chief Mark Talbot told the city council the number of cars stolen this year was down slightly compared to last year, but remained considerably higher than in 2021.
Several cities, including Norfolk, are now using Flock Safety Cameras that take images of cars and can alert police if a stolen car is passing by the camera.
"Instead of taking days or weeks to find stolen cars and having to resort to tactics where they're doing a lot of traffic stops on people who haven't stolen cars, they're able to make targeted stops and targeted arrests knowing that a car is stolen," said Fatehi.
