Article on Coach Whiz' SUV being stolen and recovered

StevenHW

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From today's Sacramento Bee edition:

THIEVES DRIVE OFF WITH WHISENANT'S BONUS


By Debbie Arrington -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, December 15, 2005


Thieves stole the 2006 Cadillac Escalade - his bonus from the Maloofs for winning the WNBA championship - right out of the driveway of Monarchs coach and general manager John Whisenant's New Mexico home.

"It only had 2,500 miles on it, and 1,100 was from driving it home here," Whisenant said Wednesday from Albuquerque, N.M.

Due to the SUV's built-in tracking system, police located the vehicle within two hours and returned the Cadillac - valued at $60,000 - to Whisenant on Tuesday night.

Missing were the DVD headrest and Whisenant's billfold with credit cards, driver's license and $1,000 cash he had checked out for an upcoming holiday trip. The thieves, who were not apprehended, also kept his keys.

"It's created a big hassle, but we were pretty lucky," Whisenant said.

Before leaving for a 6 a.m. workout Tuesday, Whisenant had left the car running in his driveway to let the engine warm up on a frosty New Mexico morning. He had stepped away from the vehicle with the family dog and was standing in front of a neighbor's house when he heard squealing rubber.

"Next thing I know, I see this car come speeding down the street and my car right behind it," he said. "The police told me these thieves had targeted our neighborhood since lots of people warm up their cars. I'm just happy to get it back in one piece."

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Yikes...Glad everything ended up okay in the end, putting aside the stolen money and credit cards. I can't believe that people still warm up their cars in the driveway unattended like that given that all neighborhoods are targets for car thieves these days.
 
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Sounds like his neighborhood had not had any problems before, which seemingly is how these thieves were able to take advantage of the practice.
 
It gives me the impression that whoever drove off Whiz' car, must've staked out his neighborhood for quite some time before actually getting into the car and driving it off.
 
RoyalDiva said:
Yikes...Glad everything ended up okay in the end, putting aside the stolen money and credit cards. I can't believe that people still warm up their cars in the driveway unattended like that given that all neighborhoods are targets for car thieves these days.

...and left credit cards and cash in it!! :eek:
 
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