ELMA, N.Y. — According to those who sell ATVs, motorcycles, and other power sports equipment, they are becoming increasing targets for theft, despite the measures they take to safeguard their goods.
Security camera video from a power sports and lawn equipment dealer in Elma, which got hit early Wednesday morning, shows how bold and organized thieves have become.
"They're getting very bold," said Matt Kelchlin, a third-generation owner of Kens Service and Sales on Clinton Street.
When the stock arrives, some of it is stored outside in yard surrounded by a 6-foot tall chain-linked fence with concrete jersey barriers around it, to prevent it from being town down or run over.
They've got security cameras, and even park trucks in front of the gate after hours to keep that from being crashed.
It's like trying to keep squirrels out of a bird feeder
All of those measures did not prevent thieves from striking early Wednesday morning, according to surveillance camera video Kelchlin shared with 2 On Your Side.
It shows several individuals who, after climbing the fence, join together to lift two $6,000 ATVs, still in their packing crates, and toss them over the fence to the rest of their crew waiting outside.
It took then only about two minutes to boost them in this fashion.
"Two vehicles, seven people, and a U-Haul box truck, so they were organized," Kelchlin said.
"We've had three incidents in the last 2.5 years," said Kyle Armstrong at Pioneer Motorsports in Chaffee, who said their latest occurred was on Super Bowl Sunday in February, when thieves hooked chains to the front doors of his family's store and attempted to pull them off.
According to Armstrong, the thieves appeared not to care that there was a semi truck parked in full view where a driver was relaxing while waiting to complete a delivery the next morning.
When police arrived, the burglars sped out and eventually escaped a chase.
A growing concern
"You know, all of us power sports dealers in Western New York have had some incidents," said Kelchlin, who added that police have told him there's not much more he can do to prevent such thefts, outside of hiring a security firm to watch their businesses after hours.
Businesses like these are generally located in outlying areas, and with thieves being organized and moving so quickly, even if cops are called, or an alarm is triggered they may be long gone by the time they get there.
Both men expressed frustration that even if collared, the perpetrators would likely only be given an appearance ticket under the state's current criminal justice reforms.
And while items are insured, Kelchlin noted that there are deductibles for business owners, who could face rising premiums if such thefts increase, driving the cost of doing business and the cost to consumers higher.
"One of the next steps I'm looking at is installing GPS device on every single unit," Armstrong said. "Hopefully you could cut these back a little bit and get the authorities involved to track these machines down in a faster fashion. It's an additional cost to us, but it could also be a benefit to our customers because they get their machines stolen too."