Thieves steal 95 tires from Scott City supplier

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- It initially had the makings of a big-budget action flick.

A stolen truck crashing through locked gates. A daredevil maneuver rendering security cameras worthless. A smooth getaway leaving the crime undetected for hours.

But then there was the decidedly unglamorous payoff: 95 truck tires.

Still, Raben Tire on Nash Road in Scott City is smarting from the loss, estimated at $24,500 for 55 new commercial tires and 40 retreads, carried off in the company's own F350 truck, manager Don Richardson said.

Cpl. Joey Hann of the Scott City Police Department said he has few leads in the Sunday-night crime, but he does have a detailed timeline of events.

Sometime after 1 p.m. Sunday, at least two thieves hot-wired a two-ton truck at Glazer Midwest, a nearby liquor distributorship. They drove it at about 40 mph through gates leading to Raben's back lot, ripping concrete-set posts from the ground, and then broke into two storage trailers and loaded the Raben truck plus one of their own.

"These people are hard workers, they moved 95 tires in one night," Hann said. "You'd think they could be in the corporate workforce somewhere."

When a Raben employee arrived at work Monday morning, he assumed the Glazer truck was there for new tires. Only later did workers notice the security camera pointed heavenward and the missing tires, Richardson said.

Anyone with information about the crime can call Hann at 264-2121.