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E-mail StoryDrivers warned of auto thefts
Break-in shows danger of leaving valuables in plain sight in car
| Thursday, Dec 13 2007 10:25 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Dec 14 2007 7:42 AM
Teresa Johnson Fitzpatrick's purse always gets in the way when she visits her chiropractor.
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She decided to leave it in her Chevy Trailblazer Wednesday afternoon at a parking lot in the 4000 block of Stockdale Highway as she went in for a 30-minute appointment.
One broken driver's side window later, Fitzpatrick's purse containing credit cards, checkbooks and about $500 in donations for her husband's kidney transplant were stolen.
"It happens that fast," Fitzpatrick said about how quickly a suspect broke into her SUV and stole her purse.
The Kern County Sheriff's Department is asking motorists to take precautions with their vehicles because auto thefts and break-ins typically increase during the holiday season, according to a news release by the Sheriff's Department.
In the colder weather, people often warm up their cars and go back inside their homes, said sheriff's Detective Vincent Martinez. When they return, their cars are stolen.
A car is stolen every 23 seconds in the United States, and an experienced car thief can steal a car in less than one minute, according to FBI crime statistics.
Holiday shopping sprees also spur suspects into burglarizing cars, according to Martinez.
"What we see is suspects targeting people who are shopping at the mall and Wal-Mart and they leave stuff in the cars. The thefts go up," Martinez said.
Fitzpatrick said she thought it was safe to leave her purse in her vehicle because it would only be a while before she returned.
"I took a chance," she said. "For no one to see it (the burglary) is amazing to me. It made me so mad."
Along with checks that were going to help pay for her husband to travel to Iowa for a kidney transplant, Fitzpatrick's checkbook for the Girl Scouts troop that she leads was also stolen.
"I was going to deposit that money after seeing the chiropractor," she said. "They (the suspects) not only hurt me, they hurt a lot of people."
Safeguard your vehicle
Never leave your car running unattended even to dash into a business, store, etc.
Never leave your car running to warm it up, even if you lock the doors while it is running.
Always roll up your windows and lock the car, even if it is parked in front of your home.
Never leave valuables in plain view, even if your car is locked. Put them in the trunk, out of sight.
Always park in high-traffic or well-lit areas when possible.
Install a mechanical device that locks the steering wheel. This will deter some criminals.
Never leave personal identification documents, vehicle ownership papers or credit cards in your vehicle.
Set your emergency brake. This may slow the thief down.
Never leave a spare set of keys in your vehicle. A thief knows how to find them.
If your vehicle is stolen, report it to law enforcement immediately.
For more information on auto thefts and break-ins, contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Department Crime Prevention Unit at 391-7559.
Source: Kern County Sheriff’s Department