Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force: Kia Boys behind bars means car thefts are decreasing

Kia Boys arrest lead to less car thefts

More Kia Boys off the street, means more cars stay in their owner’s driveways, according to the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task force.

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - More ‘Kia Boys’ off the streets, means more cars stay in their owner’s driveways, according to the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force.

In a recent release, the Task Force said they believe several key arrests of Kia Boys are leading to a drop in stolen car numbers.

According to the data, 705 cars were reported stolen in September 2023. That number dropped to 550 in December 2023.

"That’s really good for us in Pierce County. One of the things that we’ve kind of attributed it to in the Auto Theft Task Force is the arrest of criminals who are repeat offenders. A lot of these kids who identify themselves as Kia Boys," said Sergeant Darren Moss with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

According to state numbers, Washington saw a 30% increase in stolen cars from 2021 (35,921 total cars stolen) to 2022 (46,939 total cars stolen).

Data from 2023 shows things may be trending the right way, with a 13% drop in stolen cars last year (40,941 total cars stolen).

Moss says there is a small number of criminals committing the majority of these crimes, but they are not getting locked up just for stealing cars.

"Unfortunately, for these kids, because they’ve been continuing to do crimes, the crimes they are getting arrested for is armed robbery, homicide, aggravated assaults, you know, serious offenses that are keeping them off of the streets," said Moss.

Victims know how much of a continuing nightmare it is to have your car stolen, even if it is recovered.

"It’s kind of like a piece of you is missing, because I’ve had that car for like three or four years, and made good memories," said Michael Mercado.

Mercado says someone stole his keys on Sunday when he was in Seattle. Then Mercado soon found out his car had also been stolen.

For days, he tried to track his own vehicle down by using an AirTag.

He says Marysville police found the car a few days later, in a parking lot that was hours from his home in Federal Way. Mercado says even though the crooks were not still around, they left plenty behind in his vehicle.

"There was a, like, crack-pipe and, like, a tube in the passenger seat, and so what the people at the tow yard and what my insurance said was that it could be a biohazard, or something, and they didn’t want me to drive it,’ he said.

Mercado is still without his car as he waits for the next steps from his insurance company.