Alleged thieves target Raleigh auto dealership, make off with cars and cash

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- In the early morning hours of Sunday in Raleigh, five thieves broke into a car dealership, stole five vehicles, cash, and all of the titles and keys for every car on the lot, according to Raleigh Police.

"I opened the camera and I shook," said owner Ehab Beshay. "Once I see the video, I say this is really sad."

Beshay owns Brother Auto Sales with his good friend Mo Youssef.

"It's just not fair for people who have a small business, for someone else to come into our business and take everything," Youssef said.

Both men said their dealership has been targeted before and they believe it will happen again.

"We're honest people trying to make an honest living," said Youssef. "This way is going to close our business soon."

In the surveillance footage, the men can be seen arriving at the dealership before busting down the rear door and going straight to the safe for the keys to the cars on the lot.

"Where the keys at?" asked one of the burglars in the surveillance recording as the men located the safe.

One person can be seen on camera using a brick to knock down a security camera near the exit.

The stolen vehicles were a 2016 Hyundai Sonata, 2016 Kia Sorento, 2014 Chevrolet Malibu, 2015 Nissan Sentra and 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Raleigh Police have since recovered the Sonata, Sentra, Cherokee and one other car -- all damaged.

A police report detailed that the thieves also took car keys for every vehicle on the dealership's lot, $400 in cash and a credit card processing machine. All of those items add up to a value of more than $60,000. Monday, Youssef and Beshay spent part of their day getting new keys made for the ones that were stolen.

Youssef and Beshay said they believe the persons are responsible for other burglaries at nearby dealerships.

Complete Auto Center, Phoenix Motors, and iDeal Auto have each been hit similarly within the past month.

Beshay and Youssef said officers told them to invest in on-site security or to guard the property and the vehicles themselves.

"I don't like this answer. I'm not wanting to get killed inside my lot," Youssef said. "I already lost a lot of money. I don't want to lose my life. I have family. I have kids."

Raleigh Police have yet to say whether this weekend's crimes are part of a larger crime wave of similar activity.