**Man Arrested After Stealing Three Cars from Two Lowell Dealerships in Less Than a Day**
LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) — A man was arrested after allegedly breaking into two car dealerships on the same street in Lowell and stealing three cars in under 24 hours, according to officials.
Lowell police reported that 26-year-old Juan Mejias pushed an air conditioning unit through a window at Top Cars Auto Group on Middlesex Street around 3:30 a.m. Thursday. After rummaging through the office, he left with the key to a Dodge Charger.
Hours later, surveillance footage captured Mejias entering the sales office at Prime Motors, where he was seen kicking down the door. Police say he then drove off in two cars from the dealership’s parking lot.
“He broke open our back door, he kicked it in,” said Maria Munhoz, an employee at Prime Motors. “He picked out a Civic, drove it around a little bit—I don’t think he liked it. He came back and chose a RAV4.”
The brazen break-ins triggered alarms at both dealerships. “We have alarms, we have cameras, we thought we were prepared, but then we got the alarm and saw him quickly coming in and going out. It was pure panic,” Munhoz added.
All three cars were missing for several hours before police found them in Lowell. “It was around 3:30 [a.m.] when they located him downtown. He was sleeping in the car, but in the few hours he had it, he wrecked the vehicle,” said Munhoz. “The car was dirty and smelly because he smoked in it, which makes it difficult for us to sell.”
Authorities quickly arrested Mejias at the scene. Munhoz expressed relief that the Charger was not in worse condition. “I honestly thought he was going to crash into something. You never know what they’re on or their state of mind, but we’re thankful that didn’t happen. Still, it was in pretty horrible shape when we picked it up,” she said. “It puts us in a fearful place.”
In response, Prime Motors has revamped its security system. The company also revealed that keys to other cars were taken during the break-ins and are currently awaiting police to return them.
https://whdh.com/news/just-one-station-man-breaks-into-two-lowell-car-dealerships-stealing-3-cars-in-less-than-24-hours/