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By Melody Jameson
melody@observernews.net
SUN CITY CENTER - A new version of the old county fair bumper cars challenge ride has been introduced here, but for many it’s not much fun.
In the last month, five golf carts have been stolen from residents’ north side carports and yards, apparently for no other reason than joy riding, according to Rob Thornton, Hillsborough county community resource deputy.
Just two of the vehicles were taken illegally in the community during the previous seven months, he added.
Several of the carts have been recovered in the Wimauma area showing considerable damage consistent with using them to ram one another, bumper car fashion, Thornton said.
None of the recovered vehicles appeared to have been stripped deliberately of any accessories for resale, bartering or use in any other manner. And neither have the sets of batteries which power the electric carts and which can retail for as much as $600 been removed, Thornton indicated.
The thieves seem to be working in teams of two or more, driving into the community during the night to look for golf carts parked in open carports or in yards. Once a likely subject has been spotted, one or more thieves drive it eastward from the community, the deputy suggested. There is no evidence that any of the recently-stolen vehicles have been loaded onto a truck for removal from Sun City Center, he added.
The thieves also are managing to evade both road deputies working through the night along S.R. 674 between the retirement community and the Wimauma area as well as the community’s own night time security patrol. It would be illegal to put a golf cart on the highway, most particularly during the night, Thornton said, and security patrol drivers normally will follow a golf cart being driven on an internal street after dark.
All of the golf carts taken in August have been manufactured under the E-Z Go brand and each has been in the 2004 to 2008 model year range, Thornton said.
Any of the little vehicles can be operated with a single key and starting any of them by “hot wiring” is less difficult than starting many automobiles or small trucks by the same means. An experienced car thief can enter and start a car without a key in about 60 seconds, the deputy noted.
Residents should avoid parking or storing their golf carts in their carports or yards, if at all possible, Thornton stated. If it is not possible to secure the golf cart in an enclosed garage or in the separate cart storage space built into many of the older SCC homes, it should be secured by another means when left in the open, he added.
For example, the deputy said, the front seat of most golf carts can be pulled up and toward the steering wheel. When this motion is executed, as if trying to expose the battery compartment under the seat, a horizontal metal bar along the back of the seat rests close to the wheel. A simple bicycle lock secured to both the steering wheel and the seat bar will make theft of the vehicle considerably more complicated, he said. A bicycle lock can be obtained at a nominal cost in many discount and hardware stores.
Golf cart owners can take another vital step toward protecting their property, the deputy noted, and it requires only a small effort once a year. Golf carts do not carry a VIN (vehicle identification number) as automobiles do and their serial numbers can be repeated on different vehicles by different manufacturers, reducing usefulness of serial numbers in identification matters. This fact can make official description of a cart or establishing indisputable ownership difficult, Thornton explained.
However, cart owners can both help themselves and help eradicate ID problems by registering their vehicles each year during the annual golf cart inspection week in SCC, he added. “An up-to-date registration goes a long way toward returning a stolen cart to the rightful owner,” the deputy stated, “but fewer and fewer residents come out for golf cart inspection each year.”
The current rash of golf cart thefts is the first since early this year when deputies broke up a ring of thieves who were stealing the golf carts in SCC and transporting them for resale through used cart dealers in northern counties of the state, Thornton said. A total of 20 of the vehicles disappeared from the community in 2007.
The August, 2008, thefts are under active investigation.
©2008 Melody Jameson
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