Police Bulletin Police Bulletin (August 05, 2005)

Unlocked doors welcomes theft

A laptop computer, jewelry, digital camera, suitcase and video camera with a total value of $2,480 were stolen from a residence in the 5100 block of Springdale Ave. July 26, according to police. The victim returned home at 4:30 p.m. to find her front door unlocked, police said. The house was ransacked and the sliding glass door was also open, according to the victim. There were no signs of forced entry, police said. The victim could not remember if she had left the sliding glass door or the front door unlocked and said she frequently leaves her doors unlocked. All of the windows were also found unlocked, police said. The police conducted a neighborhood check, but none of the neighbors saw anything and no fingerprints were found in the residence. The police officer on the scene advised the victim to keep doors and windows locked when she is not home.
Open car, an easy target

More than $1,000 worth of property was stolen out of a vehicle while it was parked in a residential driveway during the night of July 24 in the 300 block of Tonopah Circle, according to police. CDs, a cell phone, an iPod and several chargers, with a total value of $1,047, were stolen out of the victim’s convertible car, according to the victim. The victim had locked her car doors, but left the convertible top open, police said. Police found two shoe prints on the left side of the rear trunk deck, indicating that the suspect entered through the open top, police said. No fingerprints were found.

At about 3 a.m., the victim said she had heard a neighbor’s car alarm sound, but went back to sleep without checking it out, according to the victim. The neighbor corroborated that his alarm had gone off and did find some change missing from his car in the morning, but did not file a report, police said.

The responding officer emphasized to the victim that this was a crime of opportunity due to the open convertible top and remember to secure vehicles, remove valuables from the car and report all car alarms that go off in the middle of the night.

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