Detroit police investigating after several vehicles stolen from east side dealership

A Macomb County man trusted a Detroit dealership to repair his truck, but before he could get it back it was stolen.

The man says he's tired of getting the runaround and wants answers from the dealership, Ray Laethem Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram on the city's east side. 

"I’m at a lost for words," Garret Pawley said. "You think, OK, all my personal possessions that were in there, my vehicle's gone. What am I going to do?"

The dealership told him last week a group of men broke in, stole three new trucks and lifted another seven vehicles from the service center, one of them being Pawley's 2019 Dodge Ram, which he affectionately calls Big Rhonda. 

"They said they did this all in 17 minutes, but how are you going to do that without the keys? We don’t know if it was negligence on their part - leaving the keys in the vehicle. Was my vehicle unlocked? Did they know where the lockbox was? Was it an inside job? We have no idea."

A spokesperson for the Detroit Police Department tells me some of the vehicles were recovered.

Garrett says he called the dealership to find out if his truck was one of them but says he only got the runaround.

"And here we are, you know, what? A week later now, still nothing."
 
In the meantime, Garrett’s insurance company got him a loaner car. He just wants Big Rhonda back and some answers. 

"I just want to know what happened to my truck? What are you going to do for me next?"

Police say this is still an active investigation and that this isn't the only case of it. They say later that week, more vehicles were stolen from Ray Laethem. 

FOX 2 reached out to the dealership for comment, left a few voicemails and even went inside to speak with a manager. We have not yet received a response.