ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Costco parking lot on the border of Rochester and Brighton is facing a stolen car problem, with seven thefts reported in the last 20 days. Strangely, there wasn’t a single report of a stolen car at Costco during the years when the problem was at its worst citywide.

Ashley DiMino’s car was stolen on Sunday, March 9th, after she parked just two rows from the front door and was in the store for only 30 minutes.

“I raced my kids to the car and my car was not there,” DiMino said.

When police found her car, the driver’s side mirrors and handle were gone, and the inside was trashed.

News10NBC’s Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean noted the unusual timing of the thefts.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “You know the interesting thing is when you look at the data there wasn’t a single car stolen throughout the whole stolen car epidemic.”

Ashley DiMino: “Right.”

Berkeley Brean: “And then in March, this is a target.”

Ashley DiMino: “Mine was the fourth one, yeah.”

The RPD crime tracking portal shows cars stolen at Costco every Saturday and Sunday in March, all in the early afternoon.

Berkeley Brean: “Is there anything Costco can do that you would like to see?”

Ashley DiMino: “Right, I would love for them to hire some security. When I talk to the Costco employees they say yeah, this just keeps happening and what are we going to do about it?”

Toni Haney’s car was also stolen from the Costco parking lot on Saturday, March 8th, and was found trashed as well.

Berkeley Brean: “Do you think there ought to be more security in the parking lot?”

Toni Haney: “I don’t really think it’s that. I think it more that these are young children. And there’s no ramifications for these children.”

Berkeley Brean: “So it’s not just a store problem, it’s a society problem.”

Toni Haney: “I don’t think there’s anything that prevents having your car stolen in a parking lot. But I think it’s more that there is no punishment for these children.”

Wegmans and Walmart pay RPD to have a marked car in their parking lots on East and Hudson Avenues at a rate of $107 per hour per officer. RPD says it does not have a request from Costco for that security, and not every request is granted.

RPD reports zero stolen cars at the East Ave Wegmans over the last three years. Costco has not replied to News10NBC’s email asking if it’s considering more security.

Looking at the bigger picture, the RPD’s crime portal shows a spike in stolen cars in 2023, averaging 26 per week. Last year, the average was cut in half to 40 per week, and two years ago, it was 75 per week.

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