Thousands of cars and trucks are stolen in Indianapolis each year, but 13 Investigates has confirmed the city's police department no longer has a unit to specifically investigate those crimes. Many reported auto thefts result in no investigation -- let alone a recovery or arrest – leaving some victims with a trail of pain and destruction across the city.

UPDATE: Arlonzo Scott pleaded guilty to auto theft charges and resisting law enforcement. A judge sentenced him to 4 years in prison and community corrections. He must also pay $7500 in restitution and stay away from the two car dealerships involved in the case. A representative from Falcone Automotive told the judge that the Scott case has forced the dealership to change test drive procedures for everyone who comes to the dealership.

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Thousands of cars and trucks are stolen in Indianapolis each year, but 13 Investigates has confirmed the city's police department no longer has a unit to specifically investigate those crimes. Many reported auto thefts result in no investigation -- let alone a recovery or arrest – leaving some victims with a trail of pain and destruction across the city.

Indianapolis is not just a state capital – it is Indiana's stolen vehicle capital. An average of about 5,000 cars and trucks are reported stolen here each year. It has a much higher auto theft rate than most other nearby cities in the Midwest.

Do you have a car theft story? If you were the victim of a car theft, we would like to hear from you. Please email us at 13investigates@wthr.com.

That comes as no surprise to Garry Staggs. His father is the victim of a stolen car. So is his brother. Garry had a truck stolen, too.

"It was a nice older truck. Very nice," Staggs recalls of the Chevrolet 1500 pickup that disappeared from his south side transmission repair shop. "I parked it out front, locked it up, and came back the next morning and it was gone."

The surprise came when he called the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to report his truck missing.

"They said they'd have someone call me, then no one called. So I called back and finally got ahold of somebody. Then they wanted to just take the report over the phone," he told WTHR. "They never sent anyone out."

Staggs was relieved to later learn the crime was captured by a security camera at his office. He called back to tell IMPD he had evidence that might help police locate a suspect and recover his pickup. His relief soon turned to frustration.

“You feel like nobody cares because they did not even send an officer out”

"I explained I had it on video. They weren't interested," Staggs said, shaking his head. "I went 'Really? Nobody's coming out? I have video and you mean to tell me nobody's coming?' They never came."

An IMPD occurrence report suggests an officer did respond to the incident in person, but Staggs says that is not true.

"You feel like nobody cares because they did not even send an officer out or detective to investigate it. It really makes me angry," he said.

Staggs' case is not an isolated one, and it's a symptom of a systemic citywide problem: too many stolen vehicles and too few people assigned to investigate them.

Nothing happens

The reality is, once Staggs filed his stolen vehicle report, no one was assigned to help find the pickup truck and the person who stole it. IMPD recorded the theft, but there was no investigation.

Sources inside the police department tell 13 Investigates most stolen vehicle reports are never assigned to a detective. The veteran officers, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the department, described a protocol of documenting victim's stories and entering vehicle identification numbers and license plates into a central database. That allows officers to recognize stolen vehicles if they are stopped for a traffic violation or used in another crime. But the police insiders say little attention is devoted to actively investigating stolen vehicles – even when victims can offer evidence.

"Car theft just isn't a priority. I'm not making excuses, but when you're short staffed, you have to prioritize, and our focus is on violent crime and fatal shootings," an officer told WTHR. "For most [auto theft] cases, you'll never get a detective assigned to it. And we just don't have time to run around looking for somebody's stolen car."

That is consistent with what victims have been telling WTHR.

"When we call the police, they come make a report, but that's about it," said Charlie Romero, whose family owns several business on the west side of the city. Romero told 13 Investigates he knows of at least six vehicles stolen from nearby businesses in the past four months, and he said calling IMPD usually doesn't help.

"We make reports, but nothing happens," he said.

Auto theft unit shut down

What most city residents don't realize is IMPD shut down its vehicle theft unit five years ago. The unit was filled with detectives who worked exclusively on stolen vehicle cases. The investigators focused much of their time on chop shops and large, organized auto theft operations, but the unit also served as a central hub for monitoring all stolen vehicle activity in the city.

It was very successful.

IMPD's vehicle theft unit helped slash the number of reported stolen vehicles by half -- from 8,992 vehicles in 2005 down to 4,599 stolen vehicles in 2012. The unit was then dismantled – very quietly -- and its staff members were distributed to separate police districts across the city. Since then, the number of stolen vehicles has jumped about 10% -- an increase of hundreds of thefts per year, but still much lower than levels from a decade ago.

IMPD Chief Bryan Roach

"I'm not sure why they were disbanded," said IMPD Chief Bryan Roach, who was a commander in the city's Southwest Police District when the motor vehicle unit was shut down. "Investigating stolen vehicles is now de-centralized, and I think that has pros and cons."

One of the advantages, according to Roach, is the ability for investigators to focus on smaller, individual auto theft cases that were never a major focus for the vehicle theft unit. But IMPD insiders who spoke to WTHR say that advantage is only theoretical because, unlike violent crimes that are still assigned and investigated by a centralized, citywide detective bureau -- individual property crime cases do not get much investigatory resources at the district level.

The police chief acknowledges one of the biggest downsides of a mothballed vehicle theft unit is that investigating stolen cars and trucks is now added to an already heavy report load for patrol officers. Many of those officers have little time and expertise to properly investigate reports of stolen vehicles. The impact, according to Roach, is that officers may see complainants as case numbers rather than victims who've just been robbed of their transportation.

"We do need to do a better job, rather than just going through the steps, actually engaging people," he told WTHR.

Even without a dedicated unit to find stolen vehicles, IMPD points out it still recovers thousands of them every year. More than 50% of vehicles that are reported stolen in Indianapolis are found.



While that may sound impressive, many of the vehicles are recovered by police only after they have been crashed, chopped up for parts or used in other crimes.

Asked if his officers should be looking for stolen vehicles and suspects – and if they have time to do that – Roach responded quickly and emphatically.

"Yes. All of our district officers should be aware of recent steals and should be looking for them," the police chief said. "All our officers should be looking at vehicles to the best of their capability."

But many victims say that simply is not happening, and they are frustrated IMPD will not more aggressively investigate car thieves, even when there is ample evidence that could lead to an arrest.

Police "ain't gonna do sh**!"

Bob Falcone owns a car dealership on the west side of Indianapolis. He was recently scammed by a car thief posing as a customer, and he is furious with the response he received when he filed a stolen vehicle report.

"Police did nothing," Falcone told WTHR. "I've called every day, and they've not returned my phone calls. I've got an overwhelming amount of proof and evidence, and they won't do anything. Basically, auto theft is no longer a crime in Indianapolis."

It all started when the customer walked into Falcone's 16th Street car dealership on March 10. According to the dealership, Arlonzo Scott asked to test drive a Volkswagen Jetta and presented his driver's license and a valid insurance card.

Falcone's staff photocopied the identification and got some additional personal information from Scott, and around 2:00 pm, he was permitted to take the car on a solo test drive.

A salesman started to get suspicious when Scott did not return the car after two hours. At 4:50 pm, the salesman sent a text: "Zo we need you to get back here. We close in an hour." Scott responded "Omw" (on my way).

But when the dealership closed at 6:00 pm, Scott was nowhere to be found. Falcone filed a stolen vehicle report with IMPD, and explained that he had a photocopy of Scott's driver's license, other personal information about the suspect, and video showing Scott arriving at the dealership and driving off in the Jetta.

"When I called police, they said, 'Well, you have insurance, don't you? We're not going to do anything.' That's their exact words. They said they wouldn't do anything."

Adding insult to injury, Falcone says Scott taunted him after he stole the car.

"I proceeded to call the guy. He just laughed and hung up the phone on me," Falcone said. "Then he left a video on his Facebook page with him driving around in my car, laughing about it. He kept the car for weeks, and when I tried to get help from the police, they wouldn't even return my calls."

13 Investigates found two videos on Scott's Facebook page that were posted a few days after the alleged theft at Falcone's car dealership. The videos show Scott singing rap songs while riding in a car, and several of Falcone's staff members identified the inside of the car as matching the stolen 2016 Jetta.

In one of the videos, another person inside the car points alerts Scott that a police car is approaching. Scott responds by stating "They ain't gonna do sh**!"

He was right.

Car full of evidence

On March 22, two weeks after the Jetta was stolen from Falcone's car lot, a friend of Falcone – who happens to be a police officer — found the stolen car parked just north of downtown. It had been involved in a crash and was missing a tire. The car had suffered more than $16,000 in damage.

Falcone had the car towed back to his repair shop, and that's where he discovered a backpack full of valuable evidence sitting on the back seat. Inside the backpack,

Falcone discovered Arlonzo Scott's driver's license, text books with his name written inside and notebooks full of his Ivy Tech class assignments. The backpack also contained a Falcone dealership brochure that Scott was given when he had visited two weeks earlier for his "test drive."

Combined with the other evidence and videos that he had already collected, Falcone thought he finally had enough evidence for police to issue a warrant for Scott's arrest.

Those hopes were quickly dashed when he spoke with police.

"We have unbelievably strong amounts of proof that this individual stole the car from us, and the police still will not investigate," he told 13 Investigates after the car was recovered. "I asked them why and I was told they have no auto theft division, they do not investigate it, they're not going to do anything about it.."

Falcone said he pleaded with investigators, but was told there was nothing they could do. Disgusted with the process and frustrated by what he viewed as a lack of justice, Falcone asked WTHR to share his story.

“How are we supposed to protect our personal property when it's now not a crime to steal somebody's car?”

"Basically, auto theft is no longer a crime in Indianapolis," he said. "I want to know: where are the rights of victims? How are we supposed to protect our personal property when it's now not a crime to steal somebody's car?"

Falcone met with WTHR on April 7 for a lengthy on-camera interview, and that's when the story took a bizarre twist.

Really bizarre.

If it were written into a movie plotline, you'd never – ever – believe it.

But here it goes….

"Hey, Bob," Falcone said when he greeted me for our noon interview. "You'll never guess who came to visit this morning!" he said, challenging me to guess.

"Arlonzo Scott?" I said jokingly.

Falcone looked at me stonefaced, nodding his head.

"No!" I exclaimed -- even though I knew, based on his expression, the car salesman was in no mood to joke.

For 30 minutes, he explained what had transpired just before my cameraman and I arrived. Scott, he said, walked into the car dealership – just as he had done a month earlier – and asked to take a test drive. A salesman recognized Scott from his earlier visit and alerted Falcone. They asked Scott for his identification and quickly, quietly, called IMPD. Staff talked with Scott for a few minutes, trying to stall until police could arrive.

It worked. Two officers showed up just a few minutes later and confronted the suspected car thief in the parking lot.

Then, Falcone's staff watched as one of the police officers pointed to the west. Scott turned in that direction and walked away. Away from the car lot. Away from police. Away from the man who now owned a worthless, crumpled pile of metal, glass and leather that used to be worth $32,000. Scott never looked back – at least not in the surveillance video that recorded the whole interaction with police. He soon disappeared across the White River.

"Police came. They would not arrest him," Falcone explained to me, talking in short, declarative sentences filled with disbelief. "No cuffs. No nothing. No anything. Let him walk. That's it."

"This is crazy," I replied.

"Yes, it is crazy. I don't understand it," he agreed. "We have a driver's license before, driver's license in the car, personal belongings with his name on it. We then have Facebook video that shows him in our car. I don't know what more proof you'd need that this individual stole this car. I just don't get it."

At that very moment – at approximately 12:10 on a Friday afternoon, as we set up cameras and talked inside his car dealership -- Falcone and I had no idea what was happening just two miles away. If we had known, neither of us would have sat still for an interview.

More victims

“When police do that... they're not protecting you”

After police let Scott leave the dealership, he walked west on 16th Street, then north on Lafayette Road. He walked into JJ & Sons Auto Sales and asked to take a 2006 Toyota Avalon for test drive. The manager got the keys and says, before he knew it, Scott had run out the door and fled with the vehicle.

"It happened so fast," said Jude Anuka. "He just took off. I then knew it was not a test drive and called police."

According to a police report, Scott headed to I-70 and ultimately led Indiana State Troopers on a chase down the interstate. Less than 90 minutes after IMPD officers let a suspected car thief walk away, court documents say Scott crashed a stolen Avalon into an innocent bystander.

That bystander, Mark Wilson, never knew what hit him.

"All of a sudden, it just … boom," he told WTHR after the high-speed crash. "Hit me and it jarred me this way, and then I yanked back from hitting that car, and then I spun completely around, hit the wall head on, and then it flipped me again and turned me back around the other way. And that's when I finally got the truck stopped."

Wilson was rushed to the hospital after he was rear-ended by Scott, forcing his truck into a cement median wall. He suffered three broken ribs and other internal injuries. A week after the crash, the grandfather of five who's worked at McDonald's for more than 30 years was still emotional when he spoke to WTHR. Tears streaming down his cheeks, he acknowledged just how fortunate he was to be talking to a reporter.

"I thought I was gone. I was scared," he said. "The doctors, police … they all told me I am really lucky."

Like Falcone, Wilson does not understand why police didn't arrest Scott when they had plenty of evidence and plenty of opportunity.

"That's crazy. Really crazy," he said. "When police do that … they're not protecting you. Because they didn't protect me."

IMPD admits mistakes

“Maybe we should have done a better job”

Asked why IMPD officers did not arrest Scott sooner, the police chief admitted his department may have made mistakes.

"We're fallible. It's things like this that make us better," Roach told 13 Investigates. "I promise you I'll look at that and see what it is we can do better."

A spokesman for IMPD told WTHR that the officer who originally investigated the auto theft from Falcone's car lot did not record the suspect's name correctly. He could not explain why officers declined to further investigate after the damaged, stolen vehicle was recovered with the suspect's personal belongings inside.

"That's something we typically get a warrant for, so my guess is maybe we should have done a better job and these officers should have called a detective out on the scene to help them with that investigation," the chief said.

Keep in mind, most reported vehicle thefts in Indianapolis are assigned to patrol officers and never make it to a detective. Those that do often get little attention. And with no auto theft unit, there's really no one making crimes like these a priority.

"I'm flabbergasted. How do you combat something like this?" Falcone asked. "This is happening all across the city, and things like auto theft lead to violent crimes. It needs to be stopped in advance. Somehow this needs to change."

In light of this report, the police chief said Wednesday afternoon that bringing back the auto theft unit is "certainly worth looking into."

Police departments in similar-size cities such as Columbus, Ohio and Austin, Texas, have auto theft units -- and they also have much lower rates of stolen vehicles. Other cities dedicate officers in each precinct or district to focus on auto theft cases.

While IMPD is reviewing its protocol for investigating auto theft cases, Arlonzo Scott is in the Marion County jail, facing multiple charges for auto theft – including a charge for the stolen Jetta from Bob Falcone.

Prosecutors recently charged him based on evidence that was available a month ago -- before he allegedly stole two more cars and crashed one of them into Mark Wilson.

WTHR asked to speak with Scott, but his attorney denied our request.

If your vehicle is stolen

If your vehicle is stolen, IMPD says you should have two important pieces of information handy: the registration information and the vehicle details. That includes the VIN, the make, model and year. If your car has a tracking device, that information would be good for police to know. Many security experts suggest you keep that records of that information at home or somewhere other than in your vehicle.

When you discover your car is missing, call police. You will likely need that report for any insurance claim.

In Indianapolis, you can request to have an officer come to your location to take the report. However, if you do not have any evidence or suspect information, you have the option to file your report over the phone. If you have any additional information, request that the officer put it in the report for a detective to review.

When you file the report, make sure you write down the case number and the district to which the case is assigned.

After an officer takes your report for IMPD, the case is reviewed a booking sergeant in the district. An IMPD spokesman says that sergeant considers several factors to evaluate the "solvability" of each report.

IMPD told Eyewitness News, "In most cases, district detectives should follow-up with a case update" regardless of whether the case is considered solvable or not. Police say they encourage victims to reach out to the officer as well to determine if there is any new information. Additionally, if you find new information about the theft, contact the district.

If your vehicle is found, officers are told to call an evidence technician to check for fingerprints or any other evidence. Recovered vehicles typically end up at a business called Auto Return, which has a lot on South Belmont Avenue. Procedure calls for IMPD's Auto Desk to notify you soon after they learn the vehicle is recovered. If the Auto Desk can't you after three phone calls, a district officer is sent to your address. Also, Auto Return sends one certified letter to let you know the vehicle has been recovered.