Group of thieves target muscle car in Studio City heist caught on video

STUDIO CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A team of thieves got away with a Studio City man’s muscle car early Tuesday morning, but not before being spotted by a watchful neighbor.

Stephan Wendel told Eyewitness News his 2017 Dodge Charger Daytona 392 was stolen from his apartment complex on Acama Street by a team of at least four thieves, but they didn’t get away easily.

Video shows the thieves arrive at the complex in a white Acura. They initially got into the Charger around 4:40 a.m. and started it, but they ran into a roadblock when they tried to leave.

The thieves weren’t able to get out of the complex because they couldn’t open the parking gate. Wendel said video shows them opening all of the doors and the trunk, looking for a clicker. Little did they know, the gate only opens with an access code.

They waited for an hour for someone to open the gate, and then they sped off, Wendel said. Luckily, the neighbor who opened the gate saw them and decided to give chase!

The neighbor was able to get photos of the Acura they arrived in and close-up photos of its license plate. The neighbor lost the suspects at Tujunga Avenue and Moorpark Street, Wendel said.

Now, Wendel hopes someone will recognize the suspects and help him get his car back.