Instructor Logan Patras reported his 2018 Infinity Q50 Sport was stolen to the Omaha Police department on August 9, the car was later found in an abandoned church parking lot on August 11.

 On August 7, Patras parked his car at an apartment in South Omaha, where he rents a garage, since he was going to be using his motorcycle. One and a half days later, he realized his car was gone when he went back for it and filed a police report.

 “My car was gone and I was like, ‘oh, no, they towed my car, right?’” Patras said. “And so I called the only tow company that services the apartment that I rent that garage at and they were like, ‘that’s crazy. You’re definitely going to want to call the police because somebody stole your car.’”

 The police received a 911 call from a witness claiming they saw someone get out of a Honda Civic and break the windows of a Q50 and drive away. Once police arrived at the scene, they found a suspect’s work ID inside of Patras’s stolen Q50. To gather more evidence, OPD ran a vehicle service history report and matched the work ID to the only person who ever serviced Patras’s car, 21-year-old Angel Ramirez.

“They broke my back window to get into it because it was locked and they rekeyed and reprogrammed a Nissan key– because Nissan is a manufacturer of Infinity– and stole my car,” Patras said.

The suspect was arrested on August 11 and released on bond on August 18. They are being tried for accessory to grand theft auto.

“I have five different vehicles and I park 3 of my cars there and none of them has ever been touched,” Patras said. “They’re kind of pieces of crap and so I understand why they probably went for the other one, but yeah, I have never felt anything like that before.”

Along with a broken window, detectives found hard drug residues such as crack cocaine and methamphetamines. Patras will be suing the suspect for the cost of his vehicle’s deductible. 

“My car just reeks of nasty hard drugs,” Patras said. “Appreciate what you have because I’ve gained a much larger appreciation for my car, even though they really messed up my car. You never know what you got until it’s gone.”

Throughout this incident, Patras was not only affected by the absence of his car but also by the mental toll it took on him. Patras said he felt very stressed and that he had a little less patience with students, he said that this was not fair to them. 

“I was a student aid in class when he told his class and I was shocked,” junior Jeremy Goering said. “He was so sad. I’m so concerned because I don’t want my car to get stolen too.”

With South Omaha being close to Bellevue this incident could cause concerns for other community members safety. Students at Bellevue East, such as Goering, express the concern for car theft happening to themselves. Bellevue East’s High School’s Resource Officer, Nathan Moore shares tips to prevent possible car theft.

“Don’t leave a spare key in your car,” Moore said.  “Leave your spare key at home in a secure place. Don’t leave any valuables visible in your car. So if you’re going to sports practice, don’t leave your iPad sitting on your passenger seat. 
Don’t leave anything out that somebody can easily grab. That’s what they’re looking to do.”