JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville couple is warning families to be on the lookout after they said a thief stole their license plate.
Their tag has their last name on it. Laith Albasal said his wife quickly realized it was missing from his car outside their Westside home this weekend.
“She told me, ‘Wake up. Your license plate, I don’t see it on your car,’” he said. “Five years here, I didn’t think somebody would come take it. No way.”
He showed Action News Jax the paperwork he got from JSO after he and his wife reported the car stolen. He said 12 hours later, they got a call from an officer.
“Police call back and tell my wife, ‘I found the car, I found the plate on a car. Somebody stole the car from Normandy,’” Albasal said.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles warns that tags that end up in the wrong hands can be used to go through tolls and red light cameras. They can also be used on cars that are part of a crime. When that happens, the name and address on file is yours.
“If somebody shoots somebody or kills somebody and the police see my plate, that comes to me,” Albasal said.
Albasal told Action News Jax he's grateful to JSO for finding and returning his plate within 24 hours.
He and his wife are now warning other families to check for their tags regularly.