"Bait Car" Snags Crooks

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Story Published: Sep 5, 2008 at 4:38 PM PST

By Steve Wellman

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Want to know who's been stealing your cars? Take a look at video from a "bait car". Hello bad guy, or bad girl in this case. Action News got actual video from the Yakima Sheriff Department's "bait car" surveillance camera. So what do thieves say when they're caught red-handed? "Their first thing is 'they didn't do it'" says Deputy Chad Peterschick.

Deputies can plant the cam in any car, truck, or motorcycle. And it's devastating evidence in court.

Y.S.O. Sergeant Randy Briscoe says "We're winning the battle now we hope to win the war when it's over."

It's bizarre to watch thieves in the act. One woman, now convicted, searched the car for valuables, then came back with a pal and took off. Right after, deputies cut off the engine and arrested the pair.

Standing by a sleek BMW, Steve Wellman says, "B-mer 328i, pretty nice car. Maybe the kind of car thieves might be interested in. Gone in sixty seconds isn't just a saying. But the bait car is the cop's ace in the hole."

The equipment is paid for by insurance companies, so it's win-win.
Other cities are using it too. We saw video of a meth-head running from cops, screaming obscenities. He was jailed after the chase.

The tiny camera can be anywhere, in any kind of car, so don't think you can find it. And even if you do, deputies say you're already caught.

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