Having a car stolen is one of the biggest financial headaches that a person can suffer. Generally speaking, cars are not cheap items; Especially if they’re luxury or high-end sports cars. No one wants to spend $50,000 or more on a vehicle only to have it stolen right from their driveway.

Yet, that is what happened to at least 15 people over the course of two weeks across several cities in Milwaukee. Furthermore, each victim had their car stolen by the same thief. It seems unbelievable, but it actually happened.

How the thief stole vehicles

The suspect, 20-year-old Lazarion Gaillard, had a simple M.O. He would find homes with high-end, luxury cars parked in the driveway, break into those homes, find the car keys and then make off with the vehicle. He would commit the crimes in broad daylight and with surveillance cameras watching his every move. Sometimes the victim would hear Gaillard and come out just in time to see their car stolen.

In one instance, Gaillard robbed the same victim twice in one month, and in both cases, Gaillard was armed. Another victim, Geoffery Cooper, caught Gaillard just as he finished breaking into his Chevrolet Suburban. As Cooper approached, Gaillard, armed with a pistol, stuck his hand out of the window and fired a warning shot into the air. 

Luckily no one was harmed, and the Cooper went back into his home to call the police. Though he speculated if the timing had been slightly different, the outcome could have been much worse. “They’re lucky I wasn’t going to work on a Friday morning,” said Cooper. “When I am armed, skilled, licensed, it would have been a different situation.”

According to detectives, Gaillard purposely ignores common cars like Kias and Hyundais and specifically targets luxury cars and sports cars like a Chevrolet Corvette, Volvos, and BMWs.

According to detective Brendan Dolan Gaillard admitted to stealing “a lot of cars.” Dolan added, “I don’t think he can count how many he’s stolen or been in.”

Detective Dolan says that Gaillard targeted 15 victims in just two weeks. Prosecutors have charged Gaillard with 33 felonies, including armed burglary, theft, and reckless endangerment.

Who do cars keep getting stolen?

Considering that detectives are aware of Gaillard’s thefts, have video evidence, and his confession to the crimes, it begs the question, why do the thefts continue to happen?

According to the WISN report, the answer is simple. Whenever Gaillard gets caught, he simply posts bail to get out of custody and goes right back to dealing in stolen cars. At one point, officers caught Gaillard in the act and chased him as he drove a stolen car at speeds up to 100 mph. 

He got away in that instance and evaded law enforcement for a month before he was caught again.

This story just shows that even when taking several precautions, it may not be enough to prevent a car from being stolen.