Oakland man, 80, is left heartbroken after his beloved $200k vintage Corvette was stolen from his garage – and blames city’s progressive DA and mayor for imposing ‘no consequences’ on criminals
An Oakland man is heartbroken after his rare vintage Corvette was stolen from his garage just before his 80th birthday.
Dave Lechthaler, 80, described how a gang of thieves broke into his home on April 15 before driving away with his $200,000 1959 Corvette, which has been his pride and joy for the past 18 years.
Surveillance footage captured the brutal act, showing two suspects breaking into the garage before fleeing in the Corvette within minutes.
βIt’s like a stab in the heart,β he told Fox KTVU.
He is now pointing fingers at the city’s leadership for what he sees as a lack of accountability for criminals.
Dave Lechthaler, 80, was overcome with grief when a gang of thieves broke into his home on April 15 – before driving away with his prized possession, a 1959 Corvette, which has been his pride and joy for the past 18 years.
Lechthaler said he put his heart and soul into the 200K convertible and spent countless hours maintaining it. He also carefully rebuilt the engine, gave the car a new coat of paint and carefully reupholstered it
Surveillance footage captured the brutal act, showing two suspects breaking into the garage before fleeing in the Corvette within minutes.
βThere are no consequences in this city. People can steal and rob,β Lechthaler told KTVU.
Lechthaler has a strong passion for cars, and his house is now decorated with photos from his racing days.
βIt hurts because my whole life has been hot rod cars since I was 14,β he explained.
Lechthaler said he put his heart and soul into the convertible and spent countless hours maintaining it.
He also carefully rebuilt the engine, gave the car a new coat of paint and reupholstered it.
Lechthaler believes he was followed from a car show in Pleasanton, where his prized possession caught the thieves’ attention.
Lechthaler is now pointing fingers at the city’s leadership for what he sees as a lack of accountability for criminals
Lechthaler believes he was followed from a car show in Pleasanton, where his prized possession may have caught the thieves’ attention
Although the Corvette is insured, the void created by its absence is irreplaceable for Lechthaler
Although the Corvette is insured, the loss to Lechthaler is irreplaceable.
His message to the perpetrators is simple: ‘I want my car back.’
January figures show that one in thirty Oakland residents had their car stolen last year – a total of 15,000 vehicles.
This is an increase of 45 percent in just twelve months, and the highest number in fifteen years
However, fewer than five percent of car theft cases result in an arrest, while California’s understaffed and underfunded police department struggles to deal with a 21 percent spike in violent crime.
Last year alone, nearly 15,000 cars were reported stolen in Oakland β a staggering 45 percent increase from 2022, the most in at least 15 years (photo: A scene of a crash after a driver was chased by thieves, leaving his car flipped over)
Masked bandits brazenly raid cars in downtown Oakland during daylight hours
There are also only two police officers assigned to tackle car theft.
Mary Remington’s 2018 Honda Fit, Milan Sanders’ 2019 Kia Sorento and Emily Frazier’s 2020 Kia Forte were all ruthlessly wiped out, they told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The city’s mayor and district attorney are both outspoken progressives who have said police accountability and racial equality are a priority.
But locals have had enough and have begged them to make the Bay Area city safer.
In October, even Oakland District Attorney Pamela Price had her work laptop stolen during a car burglary outside a family justice center in broad daylight.
The city’s mayor and district attorney are both outspoken progressives who have both said police accountability and racial equity are a priority, but fed-up locals have begged them to make the Bay Area city safer. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (photo)
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (photo)
This comes as the campaign to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, also known as Save Alameda for Everyone (SAFE), intensifies. The recall was initiated in 2023.
The epicenter of this wave is in Uptown and North Oakland, where there was a shocking 69 percent spike in car thefts, according to police and state data.
The Chronicle revealed several reasons experts give for the growing crisis plaguing the city.
One major factor is the lack of basic anti-theft technology in popular Kia and Hyundai models, exacerbated by a viral challenge on social media encouraging thieves to target these specific cars, the Chronicle said.
In addition, tight police resources are reportedly being focused on higher priority crimes.