What Happened When a New York Man Tried to Steal a Car from this Dealership Lot

New York man arrested for attempting to steal a vehicle off the lot of a car  dealership.

If you are a jewel thief, you go to a jewelry store. If you are an art thief, I suppose you go to a gallery or museum. In this case we have an alleged car thief that attempted to steal a vehicle off the lot of a New York car dealership. That is just the beginning of this wild story.

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On Sunday, November 9th, according to a New York State Police press release, Troopers responded to a trespassing call at approximately 1pm. Officers in Hastings, NY were informed that a trespass was in progress at Burdick Ford, located at East Avenue in the village of Central Square.

Once Troopers were on site they found the dealership closed to the public but witnessed some activity. They spotted an individual seated in the driver’s seat of a new 2025 Ford Raptor on the sales lot.

It appeared that the vehicle’s hood was open and a jump pack attached to the battery. Inside the vehicle, an individual had a laptop computer and an On-Board Diagnostics scan tool, which can be used to bypass vehicle security systems to start a vehicle.

As Troopers approached the suspect locked himself inside the vehicle and refused to exit. The vehicle was subsequently unlocked by Burdick Ford staff, and he was taken into custody without further incident.

Officers also learned that the suspect went allegedly went to a Burdick Ford employee’s residence unannounced, before going to the dealership, demanding the keys to the building and falsely claiming to be the employee’s new supervisor.

New York State Police arrested 37-year-old Nicholas B. Rodriguez of Central Square, NY and charged him with one count of Attempted Grand Larceny 2nd Degree, and one count of Stalking 3rd Degree.