Fresno, Clovis Hit by Rash of Wheel and Tire Thefts

Nine vehicles were stripped of their wheels in a four-day span near the intersection of Herndon and Polk in northwest Fresno, while residents across west and southwest Clovis reported similar losses, prompting both the Clovis Police Department and Fresno Police to warn drivers to invest in wheel locks and check neighborhood surveillance systems.

A man who lives near Herndon and Polk woke up to find his Toyota Corolla resting on cinder blocks after police knocked on his door before dawn. "The cops woke us up at 5 in the morning to let us know that our tires and our rims were missing," said the man, who declined to be identified. Replacing the wheels through insurance would cost at least $1,000, he said, and that figure stung. "The fact that we had to dish out our own money, that's the frustrating part." Around the corner, just a few houses down, a second Toyota Corolla had also been stripped of all four wheels in the same early-morning hours.

Emily Booker, a victim in southeast Fresno, woke Sunday morning to her car swaying on cement blocks. She said she is now out $3,400, not including the tow and repair labor still to come. Fresno's FOX26 station caught up with Booker as she was leaving to pick up a rental car covered by her insurance while she waits on back-ordered parts. "This is the first car I've bought with my own money with my own loan that I got approved for so I'm kind of sad because I work very hard for this car," Booker said. "I work very hard in general so it's kind of frustrating that people think that they can just come and take stuff and it's okay."

Fresno Police documented at least two cases with specific times and addresses. All four wheels were stolen from a vehicle on E. Florence Avenue on June 10 at approximately 3:30 a.m. A second case on S. Rachel Avenue, in which two wheels were taken, was reported June 11 sometime between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. At least four thefts total were confirmed by Fresno Police and residents, though the nine-vehicle cluster near Herndon and Polk suggests the actual count across the city is considerably higher.

Surveillance footage posted to Nextdoor on Monday captured the suspects' efficiency in stark detail. Two men in hoodies pulled up to a car in a cul-de-sac and began removing tires immediately upon stepping out. The theft started at 5:09 a.m.; by 5:13 a.m., all four tires were off and the car had been lowered onto cement bricks. The suspects covered their faces when they moved into camera range. Fresno Police said it remained unclear whether the thieves were targeting the tires, the rims, or both.

The thefts fit a national pattern documented by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which reported that vehicle thefts, catalytic converter thefts, and carjackings were all rising, with close to a million vehicles stolen across the country in 2021 alone. No arrests connected to the Fresno or Clovis wheel thefts had been announced as of the time of reporting.

Clovis Police urged residents in west and southwest Clovis to install wheel locks on their vehicles and to review any home or doorbell surveillance footage that may have captured suspicious activity before dawn.