PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Ten license plates were stolen in the past week, two of them in the Cradock area of Portsmouth, police said.
Nneka Henderson said her plates were one of those.
“I drove my cousin to work,” Henderson said. “We came. I came back. This had been around maybe like 10:30 no later than 11 p.m. I went and was getting ready to walk out to go to work [when] I noticed something was different about my car. My plates were gone.”
Her license plates were completely stripped from the front and back of her Nissan Rogue.
“They took the bolts, the plates, everything. My registration, as far as the decals are gone, everything is gone,” Henderson said.
It’s a major headache for the Portsmouth resident. She said she often drives out of state to see her parents, and now she has to rely on public transportation.
“If it’s not yours, don’t bother it,” Henderson said. “Don’t take it. You know the hassle that these people are doing. Do you not have any sympathy for what you’re doing to people? I feel like I have to take my license plate off my car and hide it in my house. That’s not right at any cost.”
Henderson said she’s contacted police and hasn’t heard much back. She’s even asked her leasing office for the video surveillance. Most recently, she emailed the toll companies to see if her license plate was captured.
“It’s frustrating because I feel as if this is hard-earned money,” she said. “I bought this car.”
Henderson is not done looking but knows she might have to fork out money for new license plates.
“It’s going to be a pretty penny,” she said. “… This right here is not right because this is going in some money that I need for bills and everything. This is just an extra headache, and it shouldn’t have to be that way.”
10 On Your Side asked Portsmouth Police about how they investigate stolen plate reports and how they track them down. We haven’t received a response back.
