COLUMBIA, SC — Thieves stole more than $50,000 in tires and rims from cars at three midlands car dealerships this week.

The thefts occurred at Love Chevrolet at Love Chevrolet at 100 Parkridge Drive and Love Buick GMC at 736 Saturn Parkway between 5 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday in Columbia and at Herndon Chevrolet in Lexington about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, police in both jurisdictions said. Police in Columbia and Lexington think the crimes may be linked after tires and rims valued at $50,516 were stolen from seven sports cars and SUVs at the dealerships.

A Columbia Police officer responded to the two Love dealerships Thursday morning, where dealership reported that tires and rims had been stolen from a Chevrolet Avalanche, two Chevrolet Suburbans, a Chevrolet Corvette and a GMC Yukon. The vehicles also sustained a combined $7,000 in damages in the thefts, according to Columbia Police Department incident reports.

Lexington Police say that a thief similarly stole rims and tires off two Chevrolet Corvettes that night at Herndon Chevrolet. After the crime, police said, the cars were put up on landscaping blocks or were left resting on the ground, causing damage.

The suspect was caught on camera taking the tires and rims of the cars at Herndon Chevrolet and loading them into a U-Haul van, Lexington Police spokesman Carroll Bledsoe said. The department is working with police in Columbia to see if the three incidents are connected, Bledsoe said.

If you know anything about the incidents, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC or www.sccrimestoppers.com