Unlocked Cars Lead to Surge in Thefts

Car burglaries dominated the police reports this past week. But in many of the cases prevention of a crime could have been a simple matter of pressing the lock button.

“We’ve put in the paper more times than the real estate sale ads, ‘lock your cars, remove your valuables,' ” said Lt. James Veltri of the Lacey Township Police Department. “And not only are they still not locking their cars, they are leaving their keys in them.”

— On Monday, June 20, a man stole an iPod and $276 out of an unlocked vehicle while the vehicle’s multiple occupants were in the vicinity, about to visit a home. The vehicle with multiple occupants first pulled over to a home on Heatherington Court in Lanoka Harbor.

Leaving the car unlocked, its occupants piled out of the car to visit the house, when they noticed a white male with a scruffy beard wearing black cargo pants, a red T-shirt and a pair of white Nike sneakers enter their vehicle.

According to the police report, the people chased the male, but when they caught up to him, he didn’t seem to have any of their possessions. When they returned to their car, however, the victims discovered that an iPod and $276 cash was missing.

— On Thursday, June 16, a 1995 Ford Crown Victoria was reported stolen. Police later located the car outside a Route 9 business, minus an XM radio valued at $200 and $50 in personal property. According to the report, the Ford was unlocked — with a spare key inside at the time of the theft.

— Last Wednesday, June 15, a pink iPod valued at approximately $200 was stolen out of an unlocked vehicle on Pine Forest Lane. 

— On the same day, a Lacey officer located a 2000 Chevy Cavalier that had been reported stolen from a residence on Greenwood Lane in Forked River. Once again, the report says, the car was unlocked with a spare key inside.  

The officer found the vehicle while responding to a call regarding a one-car accident on Kennebec Road. Upon the officer’s arrival, the lone occupant of the car fled on foot, police say. As a result of the accident, the car sustained heavy damage and is believed to be totaled.