(COLORADO SPRINGS) — With the weather officially turning colder, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is issuing a warning to drivers who have keyless entry–your car can still be stolen even without the keys in it.
According to CSPD, officers responded to a reported car theft shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in the 2300 block of Willow Tree Grove, west of Memorial Park. CSPD said the victim had left their car unoccupied and running, assuming that the car could not be taken if the key fob was not inside.
Officers investigated and located the car about a block west of the theft location, and after a neighborhood canvas, narrowed down the suspects’ location. As they were investigating, officers learned that the victim’s debit card, which had been in the car at the time of the theft, had been used at several businesses in the area of Pikes Peak Avenue and South Academy Boulevard.
Investigation at these businesses resulted in photo evidence of the two suspects.
Back in the neighborhood where the car was located, officers contacted the two suspects, identified as 40-year-old Ashley Steele and 25-year-old Richard Deanda, and took them into custody.
Steele was arrested on identity theft charges and Deanda was arrested for motor vehicle theft, identity theft, and resisting arrest. According to CSPD, Deanda had previously been convicted of motor vehicle theft seven times, and he had an outstanding warrant for motor vehicle theft while he was on parole, also for motor vehicle theft.
“With winter weather bearing down on us, this situation is a good reminder to know the limitations of your vehicle’s key fobs and/remote start systems,” CSPD said.
While this situation doesn’t necessarily qualify as traditional “puffing,” which is illegal in Colorado, it still leaves drivers at risk of theft. The act of “puffing” is when a driver leaves a car unattended with the key in the ignition and the engine running, usually to allow it to warm up. The driver in CSPD’s referenced case did remove the key fob from the vehicle, but many cars with keyless entry can still be driven away without the fob inside if it was already running when the fob left the vehicle.
Cars with keyless entry cannot be started without the fob in range, but they can still be driven away, as this driver learned the hard way. The Colorado State Patrol recommends that if drivers really want to warm up their car, they should do so while they scrape ice from their windshields, or allow the car to warm up while you are inside of it–never leave it unattended.
Of course, cars with auto-start are exempt from the puffing law.