You might expect to find the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office discovering the theft of a radio from a Ford Tempo or a Chevrolet Celebrity, or inspecting vandalized windows on a Buick. But you might not expect the crimes to happen after county has custody of the vehicles.

Since the spring, the cars have been the target of thieves and vandals entering the unfenced lot where the sheriff’s office has impounded seized vehicles for the last several years. It is the first time this has been a problem, Sheriff Mark Harig said. He suspects that one group of people is committing the crimes, but he asked that the location not be published to keep other thieves and vandals from getting any ideas.

He said he it would require too many resources for deputies to stake out the location, and there haven’t been any good leads.

&uot;Often it don’t really matter if there’s a busted window, because they’re junk away,&uot; he said of the cars, usually obtained from DWI seizures. As the vehicles sit, their tires may lose air or the batteries die, and they weren’t that nice to begin with. Frequently they are given to the junk yard. But he said that’s not always the case.

Harig said that a truck was auctioned off a couple months ago for $4,700 &045; a good price, but it could have gone for $7,000 to $8,000 if the intake and carburator hadn’t been ripped out, Harig said. Another time, the county’s insurance company had to pay $1,900 after a man got his car back with damage and the loss of some custom wheels.

The thieves and vandals have put the sheriff in a small bind. He needs somewhere safe and inexpensive to impound cars. The county won’t pay for a new storage facility. The police department is running out of room at their site. The fairgrounds have hardly any space, and it’s inconvenient, because the cars have to be moved around occasionally, like during the county fair.

He said won’t continue keeping cars in the current lot and has been talking to several individuals about renting space, but one of the bids was $35 per month per car for enclosed storage.

&uot;We can’t afford that,&uot; he said. &uot;Look at that rusty Geo Metro. How much do you think that costs?&uot;

He said that they have to keep some cars for years before they’re legally allowed to dispose of them. He said the Metro is probably worth only $300, and most likely he’ll have to give it to a junkyard. So paying what could be $420 a year is out of the question, especially since he impounds at least six cars a year. He said he hopes to work out a flat rate soon.

County Administrator Ron Gabrielsen said that the county won’t pay for an enclosed impound facility because the need isn’t big enough, and there’s not enough money.

&uot;In the last ten years how many cases of vandalism have we had?&uot; he said.

He said there’s too many sacrifices to be made to fund a storage facility.

Harig said he’ll find somewhere to store the cars and pay for it partly with the money used from the truck that was recently auctioned off.

He laments that the money will be used for something the department never had to pay for in the past instead of on training and supplies to help keep drunk drivers off the road.