After reportedly breaking into a Coos Bay car dealership, stealing a Jeep, driving it through the facility’s garage door, and speeding away on Highway 101 while police officers watched, a man has been arrested.
Surveillance video shows man drive Jeep through dealership garage door in Coos Bay, Oregon on Monday morning, Feb. 6, 2023.
According to the Coos Bay Police Department, on Monday around 6:30 a.m. officers were dispatched to Graham Bay Area Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Dealership at 1400 Ocean Boulevard for a report of an alarm. When they arrived, they reportedly saw a man, later identified as 45-year-old Aaron Bruce Howley of Coos Bay, inside the business attempting to steal a vehicle.
Officers then watched as Howley backed the white 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer through one of the closed bay doors and sped off traveling north on Highway 101. Officers started to chase Howley but soon after stopped the chase due to public safety concerns.
Surveillance video from inside a Jeep dealership in Coos Bay shows a man drive a Jeep through a garage door. (Credit: Jason Graham)
The dealership’s owner Jason Graham provided surveillance video to FOX 12 from inside and outside the garage during the incident. It shows the Jeep burning rubber as the driver tries to back it off a lift. It then reverses through the garage door, smashing it to pieces before speeding off.
Howley was arrested on Tuesday morning, police said.