MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — "My parents put me in drum lessons at the age of 8," 32-year-old Aaron Smith says. He's been finding the beat ever since.
Smith and his drums have been all over Northeast Ohio. On Monday, he left some of his equipment in his 2020 Kia Sportage, and it sat in the car as he took his wife to dinner at LULO.
He parked it at West 9th Street and St. Clair Avenue. Following a few hours inside the restaurant, the couple came back out shortly after 10.
"Somebody stole the car," Smith recalled, laughing at his dilemma. "I don't even know how else to really put it. I was shocked; we were shocked."
Unfortunately, Smith's car is a model that has been popular with car thieves. Affected Kias became eligible for a software patch in early 2023 which introduced an "ignition kill" feature. Smith says his vehicle had this feature, yet it was still stolen.
"I don't care how advanced the technology is, as far as the security system is in the car," he remarked. "It's still a Kia, so it's still a target."
Cleveland police confirm Smith's car was stolen. In fact, it was later located on Cleveland's east side.
"You could see that they popped the ignition with a screw driver and used my charger to start the car," Smith said.
According to Smith, much of what was in the car was on the ground. He tells 3News he was not allowed to retrieve his vehicle without proof of registration, which the thieves disposed of.
The young father says thousands of dollars in musical equipment was in that car, and says someone stealing the vehicle is very personal to him.
"To see somebody just disregard my equipment, disregard my car, disregard everything that is in there and just trash it is disheartening for me, for my family."
Police are currently investigating.