Car burglary is a quick crime, and someone committed several.
Marianne Martin woke up ready to start a day of work for Dallas ISD. She left her home and walked to her car parked in the driveway, which is in back of her house.
What Martin found shocked her.
“I walked out to go to work and the window was smashed,” she says. “I’d heard my dogs bark during the night, but didn’t think anything of it.
“I’ve always heard that this was a high car break-in area. I guess that’s just the thing to do around here.”
Approaching the car, she found debris and glass strewn everywhere inside. The thief had ransacked the glove box and storage compartments.
According to Dallas Police reports, nine car smash and grabs took place in Martin’s neighborhood from Jan. 19-23. Among the items stolen from victims were two pairs of expensive sunglasses, cell phone accessories, a laptop computer, GPS system, a wallet with cash and credit cards, CDs and clothes. Add to this the cost of window repairs, and the crimes are an expensive hassle for the burglars’ victims.
Luckily for Martin, the crook got away with very little.
“There was absolutely nothing in there worth taking. They literally got $2 in change that’s going to cost me $200 to get repaired. It’s a pain to get the window replaced,” she says. “The police said the chances of catching the [burglar] were slim to none, and recommended I get a motion sensor light.”
Officer Bervin Smith with the Dallas Police Northeast Patrol Division says thieves often hit several cars, but it is uncertain whether these crimes were committed by the same crook.
“There is a possibility that this is the same person committing all of the offenses, but there is nothing definite to report,” he says. “It is very common that the same thief will hit several cars in the same area.”
Police regularly take fingerprints, assign extra police or a crime watch patrol, and use cameras to catch this type of criminal, he says. Police also believe motion sensor lights deter crooks from breaking into a car.
“Anytime extra lighting can be utilized will deter that criminal element. Thieves love to operate in the dark.”
