Brazen car thief swipes Cadillac from Westminster lot

Posted: 07/26/2013 02:15:52 PM MDT

Updated: 07/26/2013 03:18:03 PM MDT

An opportunistic, distinctive-looking car thief took off Thursday afternoon with a Cadillac from a local car dealer.

The incident happened about 1:45 p.m. at Stan's Auto Sales, 7192 Newton St. in Westminster, said Stan Martin, the business owner.

A salesman "turned his back for a moment" and the thief took off with the Caddy, Martin said.

The car was found Friday afteroon, but the suspect is still on the loose.

Martin's been a used car dealer in the area since 1998. A couple of years ago he experienced a similar situation, when a prospective car buyer presented a driver's license and went for a test drive - to run the car by his mechanic for inspection. The license turned out to be bogus and the car was never returned.

On Thursday, two men showed up on the lot in a silver Honda Accord or an Acura. One of the men was interested in the navy blue 2003 Cadillac CTS, with 102,000 miles on it, and a salesman had produced the keys to the car.

The salesman was distracted by another customer, who isn't a suspect in the case, and went to get another set of keys in the office, said Trevor Materasso, a Westminster Police Department spokesman.

That's when the thief bolted off in the Caddy and his partner also drove off in the silver car in which they'd arrived.

The car thief had a distinctive look - a possible broken nose and two black eyes.

"He told us he had been in a car accident," Martin recalled.

Martin hopes police quickly catch the man.

"He's out to do more harm to the community," he said.

Anyone who believes they recognize the suspect, or who has information on the case, is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720 913-STOP (7867). Beyond the $500 offered by Martin, Crime Stopper tipsters can earn $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kierannicholson