Police Bulletin Police Bulletin (April 02, 2004)

Popping soda change

An overnight thief struck three soda machines at Harvest Park Middle School, 4900 Valley Ave., snatching about $100 while causing $2,000 in damage.

School custodian Michael Bettencourt reported to police that he arrived on campus about 6 a.m. March 24. During his morning walk-through, he discovered that the cash boxes on three soda machines had been forced open. All of three machines, two Pepsi machines on the west side of the campus and one Sobe on the south side, had been cut open with some type of metal-cutting tool, police said. The metal face above the case box of the machines had been peeled back.

Bettencourt also discovered that the school's gate on the south side had been cut open. Police believe the thief gained access onto the campus through that gate. Thieves snatch car stereos

Two vehicles parked at the Stoneridge Shopping Center parking lot in the same area were reported burglarized within an hour of each other on March 27, leaving the auto owners with more than $2,000 in losses.

In the first report, police were called about 9:18 p.m. The victim told police he had parked his 1991 Nissan Sentra about 3:30 p.m. He returned a little after 9 p.m. and found the driver's door open, the center console pulled apart, and the vehicle stereo missing, police said. Police reported finding four pry marks on the driver's door along the bottom of the window weather stripping. Also the trim along the lower right side of the window had been pried away. Police believe the unknown suspect pried the window stripping away from the window and used a special tool designed to unlock car doors. In addition to the stereo, the victim told police a CD case with 50 CDs and a Macy's shopping bag with $200 in clothing were missing. The case had been hidden under the front passenger seat and the shopping bag was on the back seat, police said.

The second theft was reported about 10:23 p.m. The victim told police she had parked her 1993 Honda Civic about 3 p.m. As in the first theft, upon her return, she discovered the driver's door was unlocked. When she opened the door, she saw that her stereo was missing from the car. There were no signs of forced entry or damage to the interior of the car, police said. The case has been forwarded to investigations.

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