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A Lesson in Car Thieving: Don’t Take Stolen McLaren 570S for New Locks

If there was an award for terrible thieving, it would probably go to this guy. After successfully stealing a $200,000 McLaren, he took it into a garage to get new locks, claiming he’d lost his keys.
Stolen McLaren 570S is recovered after thief takes it to garage for new locks 4 photos
Photo: Twitter/West Midlands Police
Stolen McLaren 570S is recovered after thief takes it to garage for new locksStolen McLaren 570S is recovered after thief takes it to garage for new locksStolen McLaren 570S is recovered after thief takes it to garage for new locks
There is a very predictable ending to the story: the thief is now in custody, and the cops are having a blast on social media at his expense.

It all went down in Birmingham, England, the West Midlands Police said on Twitter. A 31-year-old male stole the McLaren 570S from the garage of an apartment complex, and the concierge there saw it being driven away while he knew for a fact the owner was still out of the country. Consequently, the concierge called the police.

That wasn’t the thief’s undoing, though; the fact that he took the car to a garage right away was. For whatever reason, the dude assumed no one would find it suspicious if he brought in a bright orange supercar that he claimed to own but whose keys he had lost. So he did and asked for a new set of locks for it.

The garage owner also called the police and, what do you know, a bright orange McLaren had just been reported stolen. Cops tracked down the suspect at his home, and he was arrested.

“A 31-year-old man was arrested this morning on suspicion of fraud by false representation and theft of motor vehicle,” a spokesperson for the West Midlands Police says. “We were able to trace a suspect to an address this morning and he was swiftly arrested. We have one happy owner now that his car has been recovered.”

This story bears more than a passing semblance to one of those poorly-written comedies where the lead makes questionable decisions no grown man or woman would ever make in real life. The only difference is that nothing was scripted here and that the happy ending was for everyone but the ill-advised main character.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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