It was not business as usual at Vegas Auto Care near Jones Blvd. and Spring Mountain Road Thursday morning.
"I noticed three other vehicles with the hood propped up and the windows broken," said John Skaw, owner of Vegas Auto Care.
Skaw says sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. a series of vehicles in his lot were targeted.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police report a total of 5 vehicles were broken into. Each vehicle had a broken window and the battery removed.
"Right here is where the battery would normally sit, it sits here and there's a holder that goes over the top," said Skaw pointing under the good of a Dodge Neon.
Skaw says each battery would retail up to $160 brand new. Used batteries that are turned in for recycle or resale are worth just a fraction.
"Here locally, you can only probably get $5 or $10 per battery for the cores," explained Skaw.
The crooks appeared to be considerate, according to Skaw. The crook took the time to loosen the bolts on some of the vehicles and removed the batteries without damaging additional engine parts.
Skaw says either way, the crime still hurts business.
Skaw estimates the damages around $4,000.
"It's sickening, you trust the general public. We can't lock every car up [in our garage], every night, but we do our best," said Skaw.
Contact 13 has uncovered additional reports of similar crimes recently.
On January 1, a car repair shop located near Desert Inn and Valley View Blvd. reported 5 vehicles were broken into and their batteries stolen.
Some citizens posted on social media, they too have become recent victims with additional crimes reported near Owens and Mt. Hood.
Skaw says police could not find finger prints on the vehicles from Thursday's incident and security cameras were unable to get a good look at the individuals involved.
