Special device may have been the key to Hollywood car theft

Video shows thief making off with a car without breaking in

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A surveillance video shows how a shadowy figure emerged from a darkened street and made off with Joy McCurdy's car last week in just a few minutes.

"He was in the car and out of the driveway in less than four minutes," said McCurdy, who lives along Jon Van Buren Street in Hollywood.

In the video, the thief fiddles with the lock on the driver's side front door, and a minute later, he is able to trigger the interior lights and make a window go down.

The thief then moves to the back door to get inside the parked 2017 Nissan Maxima.

"This is a shock to both of us, and a very false sense of security," McCurdy said.

The crime happened Tuesday while McCurdy and her husband were still awake.

"It is a very sick feeling. Go get a job, dude. Really, we work hard for what we have," she said.

In the video, the thief in the beat seat of the car uses a device and some sort of light to start the car. It takes less than two minutes.

The thief is able to start the car and drive away without ever having the vehicle's key fob.

"I never even knew this kind of device existed until (my husband) started to research and said, ‘Wow! This is exactly how they got into the car,'" McCurdy said.

The exact tools used in this case are not yet known, but here's what likely happened: The thief tricked the car into thinking a key fob was present by using a device to search for and then replicate the signal from the fob, which remained in the home the entire time.

The car and fob, in theory, were just close enough to communicate.

The thief drove off with the car and was followed by an accomplice vehicle another Nissan Maxima. Both cars haven't been seen since.

"I want people to know what these crooks are doing, what they are capable of getting their hands on and messing up your life," McCurdy said.


About the Author:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.