police Archives - Page 11 of 18 - Tyrepress

Posts

Sainsbury’s Warn Of “Frosting” Crime

With temperatures in many parts of the UK consistently below freezing this week, Sainsbury’s Car Insurance is warning motorists to be on their guard against ‘frosting’ car crime, where opportunist thieves take advantage of drivers who leave their cars unattended whilst warming up the engine. The bank’s research suggests that up to 15,000 households could fall victim to ‘frosting’ this year.

While it is not clear if she was a victim ‘frosting’ Princess Beatrice will be kicking herself after leaving the key to her £17,000 1 Series BMW in the ignition. According to the RAC website Westminster Police are investigating reports the princess’s car was stolen after she left it unlocked with the keys in the ignition.

8th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyres ‘Darted’ in Bristol

The British are known to be partial to a game of darts, but sometimes our love of the game goes too far. In the town of Totterdown, instead of holding a pint in one hand as they aim their ‘arrows’ with the other, local lads have been honing their skills on the tyres of parked cars.

Police suspect that scores of cars have been targeted in recent weeks by what the Bristol Evening Post describes as “a gang of teenagers”. The wayward youngsters are using a dart or a compass point to prick the wall of the tyres, causing a slow puncture.

19th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Managers Allegedly Beaten Up

The tyre trade can be a ruthless business sometimes….Two Dunlop India managers have reportedly been beaten up by members of the INTUC employee’s union at the company’s Sahagunj factory. The Calcutta based Telegraph newspaper reports that, on the afternoon of December 17, the men were attacked following accusations of attempting to smuggle machinery out of the closed unit. One of the two was taken to hospital for observation.

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Woman Avoids Prison for Bridgestone-Firestone Embezzlement

An American woman that embezzled more than US$200,000 from Bridgestone Firestone over a nine-year period will avoid spending time in prison after pleading guilty to theft and two counts of forgery. Janet Lazdins from Indianapolis pleaded guilty in August to taking around $215,000 from the company between 1997 and 2006, and on December 15, Madison Superior Court 3 Judge Thomas Newman on Monday gave her a three-year suspended prison term and ordered her to spend three years on probation.

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Lover, Allegedly Driven by Desire, Steals Wheels

A North Platte, Nebraska man stands accused of committing an unusual, though perhaps understandable, crime of passion; stealing not the heart of a married woman, but the tyres and rims with which he supposedly “fell so much in love.”

Local news source the North Platte Bulletin describes the courtship of a set of four Hankook tyres mounted on Pacer rims (be still, thine heavy-beating heart, dear reader) by area man, Anthony L Bennett. Witnesses at the TO Haas Tires dealership told investigators looking into the theft that Bennett had been to the store several times to view the wheels. It was clear, they say, that he was something of an admirer.

16th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Man Steals Police Car to Sell Tyres

A Mexican man’s risky venture to secure a set of tyres has landed him in a spot of trouble, reports the Agence France-Presse news agency. Alejandro Juarez spotted a police car sitting tantalisingly unoccupied in the town of Aguascalientes….and once Mr. Juarez’ eyes locked onto the car, it didn’t remain unoccupied for very long. “When I found the car and I saw it had the key in the ignition, well, I just got in,” Juarez admitted.

And the reason for this unlikely theft? “I was thinking about taking off the tyres so I could sell them,” he said. “But then I was thinking first I would take it for a spin – and then bam, I got a bit distracted and crashed.” Following the car’s sudden stop – against a rubbish dumpsters – Mr. Juarez was taken into police custody.

8th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Arson Suspected in Recycling Plant Fire

According to a West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service spokesman, arson is suspected in the Sunday night fire at Envirowaste in Yapton. Two HGV trailers and almost 2,000 tyres were consumed in the fire at the tyre recycling facility on the evening of November 23.

Spokesman Gary Towson reported that the area where the fire took place “is in a secure compound and there is no obvious reason for it to catch fire.” He said fire and police investigations officers are now investigating the incident.

24th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Launches 2009 Calendar

On the evening of November 20 the 2009 edition of the Pirelli Calendar – one of only a few objects in this world that can be described as iconic without fear of a visit from the ‘cliché police’ – was unveiled at its world premiere in Berlin. The ‘Cal’ has been a cult object for more than forty years among connoisseurs of photography, beauty and cultural evolution, and the setting for the 2009 edition is the landscape of Botswana, where famed photographer Peter Beard spent ten days immortalising seven internationally renowned models. Beard, who lived in Kenya for thirty years, has developed a reputation as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of the mystery and charm of Africa.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Chris Wakley Receives TyreSafe Award

Chris Wakley, founding executive director at Automotive PR, has received a special award from TyreSafe recognising his contribution to tyre safety over the past 15 years. It is only the third time that the award has been conferred. Wakley handled media relations for the Tyre Industry Council since its inception which latterly became TyreSafe. The organisation is the UK’s leading tyre safety body.

The TyreSafe Award was presented by Rob Beddis, chairman of TyreSafe “in recognition of the outstanding contribution to tyre safety”. According to Beddis: “Chris was responsible for developing a very successful series of tyre safety campaigns ranging from regional roadside tyre checks arranged with practically all UK police forces, to tyre safety weeks in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East of England.”

18th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Trouble Lands Man in Prison

Kwik-Fit recently urged us not to be DIPSTICs – Drivers In a Poor State to Inspect Cars. This prompting came following survey results showing an embarrassingly large percentage of us don’t really know how to check oil levels, maintain tyres or even open our car’s bonnet. A man in the US city of Aurora, Colorado would have done well to heed this advice…..

The 51-year old telephoned the police some time before 2pm on October 29 to report a flat tyre. Would the boys or girls in blue kindly come out and assist, he asked. Fortunately – or so it seemed – for the man, a patrol car was already in the vicinity. It had been dispatched to attend a hit and run accident in which three parked cars were damaged, and was already on its way when the officers were called upon to be good tyre Samaritans.

11th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Canadian Winter Tyre Thefts – the Work of Organised Crime?

The new law in Quebec, Canada making winter tyres mandatory on provincial roads may be the factor behind rising thefts of these products. Canadian broadcaster CTV reports that on the morning October 30, following the region’s first major snow of the season, a number of Montreal motorists awoke to find the winter tyres stolen from their vehicles.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyres Subject to ‘Biblical’ Wrath in US

And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tyre for tyre…. Two men in the US city of Dallas have taken a biblical approach to their differences following an argument on October 27. According to Dallas Police, the gents were seen “arguing and getting angry with each other” in a car park at 7.30pm. The Police have released details of what followed.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre-d and Emotional

A Washington State uncouth youth was apprehended Saturday (25 October) by sheriff’s deputies in Kitsap County following a drunken fight with another teen and an abortive attempt “to start [her] car with a tyre iron,” local news sources have reported.

The police were called to the scene of a fight between two women in Port Orchard and on arrival spotted an 18-year-old attempting to pull a tyre iron out of her car. Witnesses told the deputies that the woman was one of those involved in the earlier scrap, so the law enforcement agents directed the woman to drop the auto implement and come forward. She refused, giving the police no option but to slap on the bracelets. When she slurred her insistence that she was going to use the tyre iron to get the car running, the deputies noticed that she smelled of alcohol. The fact that she couldn’t stand up straight was the final straw; she was taken to Kitsap County lockup and held on $1,000 bail for obstructing a law enforcement officer and being a minor consuming alcohol.

27th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bathtub Tyre Fugitive Apprehended

A thief hoping for a ‘clean getaway’ by stashing a set of stolen tyres in a hotel room bathtub has had the plug pulled on his criminal activities. According to the online edition of Southeast Arkansas, US newspaper the Pine Bluff Commercial, four tyres and rims stolen from a vehicle parked at a car dealership were found in a room rented by local man, 34-year old Michael Thompson.

Whether Thompson planned to sell the stolen tyres and rims, valued at US$3,000, or if he merely booked the motel room to enjoy a few hours’ time alone with his circular companions is not made entirely clear by the news information at hand. However, when police became aware of the tyres’ hotel sojourn they visited the premises, where they found they hotel room door open following Thompson’s flight from the scene. According to case prosecutor Cymber Gieringer, police could see one tyre in ‘plain view’ within Thompson’s room, while the other three were nestled together in the bathtub.

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sunrise, FL Police Tyre Theft Accused Resigns

It seems cunning tyre thefts are not limited to Derby – or even the UK (see ‘Derby Motorist Stung by Rubber Ripper’ on tyrepress.com). Following information no doubt received through a snitch, Mark Lewis – a police officer in the town of Sunrise, Florida – was accosted by an internal affairs unit, which accused him of stealing the tyres fitted on his own 2003 Ford Crown Victoria from a city-owned police vehicle.

Local reports state that Lewis at first denied the charge when questioned about the brand new rubber adorning his personal vehicle, saying that the treads were original equipment. He also denied that he had purloined the police headlight the unit found in his boot, claiming his ex-girlfriend had probably put it there. However, the jig was up when internal affairs told Lewis that the tyres were traceable. Their report said that when informed of this fact, Lewis “put his head down and after approximately one minute looked up and said, ‘Now what?’” Shortly afterwards, he admitted the charge. Had he failed to resign, the charge would have been pursued as a criminal case.

14th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors