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Technology stops Pasco Co. car thief

Thief tried stealing 4 cars
Posted at 6:28 PM, Apr 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-19 18:28:20-04

Pasco County Deputies are looking for a man who attempted to steal several cars from a used car lot in New Port Richey.

The man caused thousands of dollars in damage to 5 different vehicles at Legacy Motors before getting one to start. The one vehicle he started malfunctioned just as he pulled out of the lot, he's seen on surveillance video trying to get the car running again for at least 10 minutes before he walked away.

The lot owner says he believes chip technology caused the vehicle to disable itself. That same technology is the reason he believes the other vehicles wouldn't turn on.

"You lose sleep over this type of stuff," owner Teddy Aponte said.

Aponte was inside of his office while the theft was occurring just before business hours on Monday.

"I didn't hear anything. It was such a crazy experience," he said.

Aponte runs a small operation. He usually only has about 15 cars on his lot at a time.

"About a third of my inventory has been vandalized," he said. "I can't even get them running. I can't do anything with them until we buy an entire new column for it."

Four of the cars need to be repaired before they can be sold.

Surveillance video also shows a woman assisting the criminal as he attempted to get the stolen car running again. Deputies are still searching for the suspects.