Thieves Scoping Cars & Garages In Jones Meadows
An incident happened in our neighborhood last night that all should be aware of.
My wife and I returned from vacation. I left the garage door open while I walked across the street to a neighbors to retrieve our mail that they collected for us while away. I was inside their home for less than three minutes. As I stepped outside and began to cross their yard I spotted someone in my garage looking in the car and out. I first thought it was my wife coming back out to get something she left in the car. As I got closer, I realized it was not my wife because it was a man with crew cut hair. I was now in the middle of the street looking directly into my garage and notice a black car sitting in front of my mailbox with no lights and the motor running. I hollered, “What’s going on?” to the person inside my garage. He shut the car door walked out of my garage saying that he was checking out his friends place. I realized they were either looking for keys left in the car or valuables left inside the car. Thank goodness I had the keys in my pocket. I asked who his friend was and he answered, “Mike”. I did not let on that it was my house and continued to walk towards the car to find out what was going on. I attempted to open the driver’s door to ask him what he was doing and get a good look at him as well. As I tried to open his door, he kept pulling it shut. As soon as the other guy got back in the passenger’s side they sped off as fast as they could. Because it was dark, I was only able to get the first three digits of the license plate which are 741. It was a black or very dark blue sedan. So many of the makes resemble one another anymore. It was a newer model and could have been an Audi, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, Honda, Toyota, etc. I just couldn’t see well enough in the dark. After they left, I checked the car to make sure they had not taken the garage door opener to return later.
A police report was filed. From this experience, I have learned the following:
1. Anything can happen in the matter of seconds.
2. Do not leave keys or valuables inside the vehicle.
3. Do not leave the car unlocked even inside your garage.
4. Do not leave the garage door open if you are not in plain site of the garage.
5. Keep all doors to the house locked at all times.
6. Let your household know that you are leaving the house or garage.
For #6, since I was unloading luggage from the car and my wife had gone inside, I thought I would just go to the neighbors to get the mail and did not say anything to her. She thought all was safe because I was in the garage when I was not. She had just come out and grabbed one of her bags prior to the man entering the garage while I was retrieving the mail. A few moments later and she could have come out while the man was in the garage and I across the street.
According to the police officer, burglars and car thieves drive around looking for open garages. If you notice a neighbor’s garage door is open, call them and let them know, I have found in the past that the neighbor thought the garage door was already shut. If you notice an unfamiliar car or person, take note, especially, if the car is idling, and without lights on in the dark. Another home of mine was burglarized many years ago and I recalled noticing a car outside idling earlier in the day. I thought nothing of it at the time but later realized that the individual in the car was canvassing the area.
Mark Gunderson
