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# Suspected tire thieves behind bars
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/suspected-tire-thieves-behind-bars/
- Published: 2008-08-19T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:44:21.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import

*By DAILY PRESS STAFF*

DOWNTOWN, L.A. Two men suspected of stealing hundreds of tires and rims off newer model luxury vehicles throughout the Southland, including Santa Monica, were in custody Monday and scheduled to appear in court this week, authorities said.

The District Attorney’s office filed 18 counts of burglary and grand theft against Vasiliy Polyak, 18, and Arsen Ovsepyan, 20, a week ago Monday, according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement.

Polyak was being held at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic while Ovsepyan was at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, with bail for each set at $420,000 and both men scheduled to appear in court in Van Nuys Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

They were arrested Aug. 7, according to the sheriff’s Web site.

Beginning in May, four LAPD divisions began getting numerous reports about tires and rims being stolen off newer model Mercedes-Benz and BMWs, according to the LAPD statement.

Detectives used video surveillance to identify Polyak and Ovsepyan, who were subsequently arrested. Several search warrants were served, resulting in more than 100 tires and rims being recovered, the statement said.

The items were being sold on Craig’s List and then resold on eBay, it said.

“It is imperative to know that when purchasing items on line, if the price seems too good to be true, then it probably is too good and is possibly a stolen item,” the statement said.

Further investigation revealed that the two men were also randomly targeting vehicles in Marina Del Rey and Santa Monica, according to the LAPD.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 19, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081908.pdf?ref=smdp.com)