MIDDLETON, Wis. (WKOW) — Middleton Police are looking for the two suspects who broke into Schoepp Motors early Sunday morning. The two men are seen on security video getting into cars and driving off.
The break-in happened just after 2 a.m. and General Sales Manager of Schoepp Motors Craig Blevins said the thieves were there for more than two hours.
"[If] they stayed here any longer, we would have had to charge them rent. They were here for a long time," Blevins said.
Schoepp Motors is closed on Sundays but Blevins said he happened to stop by to do some paperwork. He was greeted with glass on the sidewalk and a broken window to the side door.
"I looked through the front windows and I saw our red Corvette that's parked in our showroom in the front so I felt a sigh of relief when I saw that vehicle still here," he said. "I immediately called the Middleton Police Department and Mr. Schoepp, the owner of the dealership, and they were arrived here within a matter of minutes, and then we we came into the building to find that our dealership had been pretty much ransacked."
Two cars were stolen. A 2023 black Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and a 2016 gray Chevrolet Corvette Z06 3LZ. Blevins said the Corvette had been sold to a customer out-of-state.
"That customer thought he had bought his dream car. I talked to him, he's very distressed, and it's unfortunate that his vehicle was stolen after he had paid for it already," Blevins said.
The two suspects, who were covered in masks, gloves and dark clothing, also went through the offices in the dealership and stole five sets of keys. Police said they also took several Wisconsin vehicle registration plates.
"They attempted to steal the red Corvette. They had the keys and the ignition. They started the car, but they could not figure out how to operate the transmission pedals and put it in gear, or that car will be gone too," he said.
The suspects were caught on camera driving out of the dealership and doing donuts across the street.
"They then proceeded to burn out and brazenly did donuts out on the intersection here, the black marks are still on the road, and I just can't believe the mentality of someone that would come in, break into That behavior makes Blevins believe it was locals who did this, not professional thieves. He said someone out there knows who is concealing themselves in masks. a car dealership and hot ride the cars right in front of our store," Blevins said.
That behavior makes Blevins believe it was locals who did this, not professional thieves. He said someone out there knows who is concealing themselves in masks.
"This is expensive for a dealership. Individuals trying to make a living here to feed their families, and when somebody comes and steals our inventory, steals our product that we're trying to sell, it makes it expensive for the dealership and for the for the people that work here," he said.
Blevins said they're offering $5,000 for tips that lead to an arrest. In the meantime, he said they're tightening security.
"We spent the last two days contacting security personnel to secure our dealership so this doesn't happen to us ever again, and we're going to have the best security that money can buy. This cannot continue to happen," he said.
Anyone with information should contact Middleton police at 608-824-7300 or Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
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