homer lawtey

Apologies for posting here, but could I have a high profile for this post for a day or two.

My mate's Mitsubishi Eclipse has been stolen from his house in North Lincolnshire this afternoon by a potential buyer who swiped the keys whilst he had his back turned.

Here's some pictures, as you can see it's very unique.





My mate is offering a reward for anyone who informs the police and gets a recovery on the car (by the police that is, I wouldn't advise trying to recover it yourselves).

If you do see it please contact me on [number deleted]. I will delete my number from here in a few days, but feel it necessary to post it at the moment.

Steve

[Edited by homer lawtey - 1/7/2004 11:21:23 AM]

homer lawtey

Thanks for the call from the guy in Grimsby who knew the car and said he'd let his mates know to watch out for it, sorry I didn't get your name, but big thanks, especially as it may be in your area at the moment.

We've spent the night checking petrol stations in the area (they had already been given a full description), talking to the max power brigade in the local MacDonalds, which proved very helpful. Turns out the theif is a bit of a loner, found out his name, ex-girlfriends address and also where he used to work. Then again there's not too many 6'3" skinny blokes in their mid-twenties who have long wavy blonde hair and one eye that is completely white like Marilyn Manson's.

Allegedly his name is Danny ****** (name hidden for legal reasons) and used to live in S****horpe, he now lives in the Grimsby/Cleethorpes area apparently. A guy fitting his description has been seen with a GSX-R 750, a blue bug-eye Scooby WRX, brand new Evo 8, nearly new Punto, people carrier and a few others. Most of which it would appear were stolen or taken by deception.

It sounds like he gets hold of a car by either pinching the keys, swapping with a new mate for a night (leaving them another stolen car) or test driving a new car leaving a stolen car. Each time he strips the stereo and anything else he can to sell to the max power brigade (he told one lad he would get him an Alpine in-dash screen and DVD player, which was suprisingly what Shane was going to fit in the car for the buyer). He then changes the plates for ones nicked off a parked car before driving it around for a while posing. When he gets bored he goes to test or swap the car for another one. This then disappears and the seller/mate is left with a stolen car and a nightmare to sort out with insurance.

Hopefully he will leave the car in a pretty much complete state at some other poor sod's house, better still a dealership, or best of all, the coppers catch the guy with the car intact.

Steve

-=Buzz=-

or better still you find him, kill the worthless scum, bury him in my garden if you want to (I'm only over the river ) and rid society of this worthless piece of sh*t ?

homer lawtey

Funnily enough Buzz, when we told people in the pub where he used to work about the £500 reward for the car, a lot of people asked how much if his lifeless body was in the boot of the car upon return.

Scum, keep your eyes out for him though, as he seems to change cars regularly and moves all over the place.

DJ WATTS

Really hope someone catches this scumbag and i hope that he rots in hell for the pain and misery he has caused you and others.
Let us know the outcome of what happens as we would all like to know im sure.
If you do get lucky and the thief is caught then after a court hearing it would be really great if you could release his name/details/photo's of him as im looking into the possibility of starting a website section up of car thieves in and around the UK so we can all be in the picture and look out for these scum bags that might live in and around your area.
Kinda like what they do with pedo's (name n shame) as i think they are as much not wanted in society as those.
Has anyone already thought of this yet for a website?

homer lawtey

Some more info this morning;

He may have gone to Scotland to a cruise last night - he told some people he was planning on going to a cruise up there this weekend.

He may have gone to a cruise in Nottingham last night - apparently he likes to be seen posing around Nottingham.

Thanks, Steve

subarujimmy

iTrader: (3)

I've just posted this thread to a mate of mine who is a police officer in Nottingham, He'll keep his eye out for you.

DJ WATTS

I would suggest you copy this original post you put up here and put it up on the Cruisenotts forums and maybe some people will be able to help?

http://www.cruisenotts.co.uk/

RandomMe

I cant believe its Stolen!!!

It was in sutton today, we were looking around it.

http://www.maxxd.com/web/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=87862&sid =01178f0d6f2d8184e6dacea0ce2887af#87862

As you can see we have contacted the owner, and talked to the police.

scoob_babe

bump to the top. Never seen such a nifty car around Gy/Clee. Hope your friend gets it back safely. Grimsby to Sutton is a bit of a trek though

SUBTYPER

Seems odd that this guy has so much information on this guy and yet no police has managed to trace his current where abouts as they now know. His full name previous address. they will know his date of birth from work or girlfriend. and also know where this guy is going cruising. Surely the people you have talked to can arrange a chance meeting with him and the police. Could this just be a setup to get info on the where abouts of the car. Sorry for the critiscm but. you haven`t mentioned the reg of the vehicle or antyhing and you seem to have alot of information already. One other thought you also mentioned you are not the keeper of this vehicle.

scoob_babe

The reg is on the second picture. Maybe the police are actually working on this and Steve hasn't been kept wholly informed as he isn't the registered keeper? Anyhow since the car appears to be have gone from Humberside to Surrey, different forces will do things differently?

tibbzy

hey guys im from mansfield and i spotted the eclipse still in mansfield today . it was about 12 30 pm he was near macdonalds going up nottingham road.

RandomMe

Yeah,

it was this afternoon when he was in sutton halfords with it, still had same plates on and everything, he was looking for somewhere to get the nos refilled. Was very happy to show everyone around the car as well.

:S

DJ WATTS

C'mon armed with this info now and by teling the police the same info they may have a chance of catching this scumbag.
My thought is that the police do not really care too much as this extra effort on their behalf is more than the average expenditure of the weekly police budget...
Seems like we are doing their work for them.

Just let the police know this info and hopefully they will get somert sorted...?

SUBTYPER

Hey DJ does it not all sound a little sus as. all the info there and he still driving round in a car well distinctive and posing mate.

homer lawtey

Thanks for the replies and the help guys.

We've just got back from Notts and Mansfield where we met with Ash, Mark and Ming from the GTOUK owners club. Unfortunately it looks like the police did the correct thing for safety and refused to get him involved in any sort of highspeed pursuit as they now know the guy driving the car.

It looks like he's planning on heading to London tonight/tommorow. The last sighting of him in Notts was at 10:30PM leaving the city with a full tank of fuel (another sighting at a petrol station).

Unfortuanately it was a case of us being in the wrong car park when he was spotted, and doing a runner when he realised people knew it was nicked.

I'd just like to thank the guys maxxd.com for the numerous phone calls and help whilst out tonight. They came to meet us, all phoned the police with descriptions and details of the theif, and took us to the local cruise spots to find out more about him.

IF YOU HAVE ANY DETAILS FROM NOW ON, PLEASE CONTACT SHANE ON [number deleted], as I will be at work with my mobile turned off from tommorow (works rules).

Could people who have posted info about this on other sites please let them know the new contact details. The £500 is still up for grabs, plus any of the thousands of pounds of cash he has in £20 notes in the centre console of the car.

As for the guys asking about whether this is true or not, I understand your concerns and don't blame you for asking the questions. The number plate on the car actually reads N9 NOS, with the nos printed the same as the company emblem. The guy is unbelievable, he is driving around in it without changing the plates or removing any of the sticker graphics, claiming to have imported it himself. For any of you who watch Rev Bob on Men and Motors, Shanes car was on a couple of weeks ago. It would appear that the theif is completely nuts, and will most likely remove the stickers tommorow and steal some plates to fit to it. He'll then leave this car at a dealership or someone else's house who is selling a car through the trader, and as soon as he gets a moments of chance, he'll have their car. This is how he got Shane's car, leaving a Punto that had been stolen a few days earlier at Shane's house with stolen plates fitted. Also it would seem that he had unlatched the kitchen window at Shane's to come back during the night and nick the car if he hadn't managed to get it there and then. This guy has ***** the size of beachballs to be doing what he's doing.

The reason I've been posting on as many boards as I know, is that Shane has been doing the rounds of the local petrol stations, taxi firms and boy racer haunts for info. He's also had to go and give a 14 page statement to the coppers yesterday and ID the guy from previous photos.

The coppers are having great problems catching the guy because he sleeps in the car's he's nicked, or in travel lodge/inn hotels under false names before ditching the car to get another within a week or two. This way he is staying just ahead of the game.

If anyone wants to check my credibility, you are welcome to browse the general discussion section of the GTOUK.com forums where I am a member.

Thanks again, Steve

[Edited by homer lawtey - 1/7/2004 11:23:35 AM]

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Bttt for the commuters....

homer lawtey

Latest info we have is that the car is in the Notts area today, and may be going to a Max Power cruise in Leicester tommorow night.

Steve

OllyK

Work in Notts and live in Leicestershire - will keep my eyes peeled!

4lex

I'm fairly sure this passed me southbound on the M69 from the M1 this morning about eight.

Cruising isn't my bag, but I have seen it happen at Fosse Park just by J21 of the M1 in the south of Leicester - They have a fairly large car park there, but only 3 ways in/out IIRC, if he's off there this eve it wouldn't be much trouble to trap him.

Andy Porter

edited, face on title says it all

[Edited by Andy Porter - 1/6/2004 12:04:40 PM]

homer lawtey

The last sightings were at 2PM in Grimsby and 3PM leaving Grimsby on the M180 heading west with the stickers removed and a false plate starting with M701. The spoiler has been changed for the original with a high level brake light (it was in the back of the car when stolen), however we don't know if the brake light has been wired in or not.

The distinctive features of this car now remain as;

Black LHD Mitsubishi Eclipse
Import size number plates starting M701
18" Black chrome alloys
Lexus style rear lights including centre panel section (red indicators)
Road salt/grime sticking to the remaining glue where the stickers have been removed
Cracked front spoiler lip
Loud exhaust and dump valve

We think that he may be planning on leaving the car at a dealership or an AutoTrader private seller's house, while he steals another car buy taking it on a test drive (dealership) or stealing the keys (private seller).

He is known to have shown a strong interrest in Mitsubishi EVOs, and his description has been sent to all Mitsubishi dealerships in the country.

If anyone does see him and can catch him out of the car, please do so, then ring the police. They have shown no interrest at all today, even when it was reported parked in Grimsby. They said they would send some cars to have a look, but the only copper in sight when Shane arrived, was parked at the end of the road eating MacDonalds and talking to a young lad who'd lost his bike. He had no idea that a stolen car had been spotted and reported less than 1/2 a mile away from where he'd been sat.

sti555

How do you know all this??

ummn

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Let me know if he heads into Cambs/Suffolk...

StickyMicky

this tale is crazy

so he is just driving about with it, pretending its his, and going cruiseing in it

and when he gets bored he nicks another and does the same?
**** me

Hanslow

I take it that it's your mate's advert on autotrader here and not the crim's advert?

Assuming there aren't two cars that look so similar

Just pointing it out incase the thicky crim has already advertised it

...and don't worry, that isn't my postcode in the link


[Edited by Hanslow - 1/5/2004 7:57:27 PM]

homer lawtey

sti555

It's amazing what posting on dozens of forums can do, also handing out flyers and talking to boy racers with the offer of £100s for the return of the car, posting pictures and contacts at petrol stations and talking constantly with the police.

First we went to S****horpe as Shane thought he'd seen the thief driving a scooby in the area before, and had given S****horpe as a false address for the log book. Talking to the boy racers there we found out that he liked to go cruising in Notts, and lad in Scunny knew him, so we went to his house. His mum told us she knew him as Danny, and that he had swapped a car with one of her son's mates. He never returned the car, and the one he had left is stolen. The car he stole from this lad was the Punto that was left at Shane's house minus the ICE and displaying plates stolen from a Mazda in Lincoln.

We went to the pub that she told us he was drinking at. He told us the address where he used to live with his girlfriend, and the address of the pub where he used to work. We went to her house but there was no-one in, so we left a flyer with a note attached. She contacted the police in the morning and gave them a helpful statement. We went to the pub in question and spoke to the landlords son. He remembered him from our description and gave us his surname as Hatton. He told us he now lives in Grimsby/Cleethorpes with a new girlfriend.

We then went through to Cleethorpes and spoke to the boy racers there, but no-one recognised his description, or had seen the car. We posted even more flyers there at petrol stations.

Yesterday we thought the car must've disappeared and were giving up hope, especially as he had said he was going to go to Scotland for a weekend cruise whilst he was looking at the car when I got a phonecall from a lad in Mansfield who had seen a post on maxxd.com from some of the guys who'd seen the car in Mansfield on Saturday night and also on Sunday morning. They were all saying how cool it was and how they had seen the AutoTrader advert for it. This guy had also seen the post on here and put 2 and 2 together and phoned me on my contact number. We then posted all the details of the theft on the maxxd.com website and our mobiles just went crazy. We found out that the driver matched the description, was called Danny, had been taking people out in the car for a spin, visiting garages asking where to fill up the Nos and that the N9 NOS plate was still on the car.

We went to Mansfield talking to the lads there, and got a call from someone in Notts to say they had just tried to pin the car in at Macdonalds car park, but he got away. The police arrived about 2 minutes later. We went into Notts and started handing out flyers to the lads there, and a lot of them recognised the car, telling us that he had been talking about removing the stickers when he goes to London cruising on Monday. Some others had told us he was planning to go with them to a Max Power cruise at Leicester on Tuesday. We found out he had a lass in the car with him the previous night. She has given a lot of info to us and the police, including where he was staying (B&B) and that he had £1000s in £20 notes in the centre console of the car. Unfortunately he then seemed to disappear from Notts, so we went to various services and B&Bs with flyers and descriptions, but turned up nothing.

Today Shane got a call from a lass who works in a petrol station because her mum had just seen the car from the flyers parked in Grimsby. She told us the stickers had been removed and the plate now started with M7** ***. She also told us that the big spoiler had been removed and the standard one had been put back on. She recognised it as a black left-hand drive mitsubishi with shiny rear lights and big alloys. Also she said there was a faint mark of a Rice sticker on the rear. This is one of the stickers he removed. When Shane got to Grimsby, there was no sign of the car, but he got a call from a trucker who'd seen the flyer and recognised the car going down the M180 as it had red indicators and was left hand drive. He confirmed the plate now read M701 ***.

We also know from the police that he wanted to test drive an Evo 8 at Nunn's Mitsubishi the day before he stole the Eclipse. They HPI'd the punto in the car park without him knowing and found out it was registered as a Mazda. They called the police and tried to keep him talking, but he got spooked and left.

This is the latest we have. Again we have a number of people keeping their eyes out tonight and tommorow night.

There you go, sorry it took so long to write/read, but you did ask. Sometimes you just have to do the leg work yourself if you want a result.

Steve

homer lawtey

Hanslow, it is Shane's advert in the AutoTrader, that's how the thief knew about it. It's also been advertised on eBay and various free sites for a while now. The guys on maxxd.com recognised the car because a couple had seen the ad in AutoTrader for the car aswell. They all thought this Danny had just bought it and thought he was dead cool.

Stickymicky, that's exactly what the guy is doing. He is crazy, but has ***** that touch the floor. To nick such a distinctive car and leave the original plate on it for a couple of days, then just remove the stickers and change the plate and spoiler for a couple more days. The car will probably be found outside some other poor blokes house when he gets his car nicked. The problem is that the gauges, electronics, nitrous, ICE and spoiler will have been sold to boy racers at cruises before he leaves it.

Steve

g-spot

hi

its graeme i was first to call you and masfield police as soon i saw the add

i cant believe i was practically sat in the car when he came into work if only i had know sooner

iam so ****in gutted that i missed blocking him in maccys,, if only i had parked more stupid that woiuld have been it over

i wish you luck keep us on maxxd.com in the know