Leaders lose wheels in Detroit

DETROIT, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing experienced the city's lawlessness firsthand in recent days when they were targeted by car thieves.

Jackson was in the city last weekend for a march to promote peace and justice. A Cadillac Escalade he was using in the city disappeared from a parking lot, WJBK-TV reported.

The vehicle was found on a Detroit street stripped of most of its salable parts.

Bing lost the tires from a GMC Yukon Denali assigned to him as a secondary vehicle, Detroit's WDIV-TV reported. The theft occurred overnight Tuesday while the sport utility vehicle was parked in a gated private lot.

Terri Miller of Help Eliminate Auto Thefts said about 20,000 of the 35,000 auto thefts reported in Michigan annually occur in Detroit, WJBK said.

An expert on auto theft said stealing and stripping a car is a quick and easy way to make money. He said Cadillac truck wheels can be sold for $1,600.