When three high-end vehicles were stolen from Salem NH automotive sales and repair business Cars Inc, the police didn’t have to go far to find one of them. The driver of the commandeered ’03 Porsche 911 decided to visit the near-by Methuen police station parking lot not once but twice, doing donuts there both times. The Eagle Tribune reports that the Porsche thief attempted to lure police into a chase, a practice that local constables say was a common gang activity back in the ’90s.

If that was the intent by this thief then it was unfulfilled as no Methuen patrol car took the bait. If they had it perhaps wouldn’t have been much of a chase as a short time later the 911 was found in neighboring Lawrence, flipped over and abandoned. The other two vehicles stolen, which were described as a 1999 Mercedes Benz and a 2003 Land Rover, remain unrecovered. Police say the thieves cut the alarm wires at Cars Inc and managed to get the three out of the locked building. Around 2:15 in the morning, the blue Porsche peeled around the Methuen Police Station parking lot, but took off before anyone could pursue. Around 4:30 it came back for a second spin cycle and this time a patrol car was in the neighborhood. It followed the Porsche but lost the car when the 911 took off at a high rate of speed. An hour later, the Lawrence police alerted Methuen that the car had been located greasy side up.  

I’m not up on the latest in car thief protocol, and maybe this guy is dyslexic, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a thief looking for the cops.

Image: [Eagle Tribune]