Angry, sad, disturbed … the emotions ran the gamut.
The reports rolled in Thursday as residents of Parkside Village discovered the items missing from their vehicles – an iPod, DVD player, a handgun, cash, glove boxes rifled through … Thieves broke into several vehicles between 1 and 3 am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, leaving no sign of forced entry on the locked cars and leaving a neighborhood with questions.
"No one was hurt" is the bright side.
If you were affected, please contact the Albemarle County police department – 434-296-5807.
One report says that a gold Kia with a dented side door may be involved.
It’s not comforting, but break-ins happen. Forest Lakes last year, Greenbrier earlier this year … unfortunately, crime happens. Let’s just hope that the police are able to find and prosecute the thieves.
As an aside, this is an example of how the community needs better online crime data; SpotCrime isn’t good enough (yet) and PDF reports are frustrating to work with. Wouldn’t it be great
is it legal to have a HANDGUN in a vehicle? how frightening that one more gun is on the streets.
Yes it most certainly is legal to have a HANDGUN in a vehicle. It shouldn’t be frightening that one of your friendly neighbors is trying to protect himself and his community.
I think Denise meant that it is frightening that a handgun was stolen and therefore is on the streets.
thanks, Joan, for explaining my meaning. I’ve got a question for Sarah: How does a gun in one’s car help when it’s in the driveway or at the curb? Why does the gun not go inside the home when the owner does? Obviously the friendly neighbor with the gun in his/her car didn’t protect his own vehicle. Seems like faulty logic, to me. Car break ins happen all the time. Does the gun owner not even consider this as a possibility?
After thinking about this long and hard (ours was one of the cars stolen from), I realize it’s one more chance to feel very lucky. I never lock anything; I keep my keys in my car (no longer!). The thieves could have driven my car away. They could have taken my keys, leaving me to worry whether my house would be next. They didn’t take my purse, phone, or sunglasses, all of which would have been incredibly frustrating to lose. We learned a lesson, and, truly, paid a very very small price. I am sad to think that it can happen here, but I am heartened a little by the idea that these were “gentle” thieves, if that makes any sense. No broken windows, no unnecessary damage. I feel very lucky. Have a great weekend, everyone.
And now, I take it all back. These “gentle” thieves came back exactly one week later and stole the car out of which they had stolen my husband’s iPod. did they notice the valet key in there during their first robbery? We think so. This makes it premeditated and very, very maddening. Now my purse, sunglasses, and phone ARE gone. You probably think I should have learned my lesson, but I was trying to live in a nicer world than actually exists, I guess, and THAT is the hardest part of this for me to accept. Thieves, if you’re reading this, we’re changing the lock to the van, so don’t even think about coming back next Wednesday for the van. Move on. Go burst someone else’s bubble. And, oh yeah, give me my car seat, kids’ books, and CAR back!!!
above comment from Katrien
REALLY? Left the stuff in the car? Again?
Should have learned the first time.
My car was broken into two times in DC. Both forced entry. First thing I got was an alarm. Then I removed everything out of it. I lock my cars everywhere.
Reply to Kaitlin
It saddens me to think that your bubble is burst, but it saddens me even more to think that you tempted someone to come back again. While I don’t like to label young people with bad things, this appears to be an inexperienced thief who is doing this for a thrill rather than the monetary benefits. An experienced thief would have taken everything they could have the first time. It is your right to leave things unlocked, but my bubble is burst that as an adult you would do that again.
That’s the thing though … this is Crozet, not DC. One expects a more civil behavior here than in DC.
Really? You’re chastising someone for wanting to believe that the world is a little nicer than it is?
If it’s an inexperienced thief, one hopes that he or she will be found swiftly and punished to the fullest extent possible.
I’m with Katrien and others who assume that Crozet and Charlottesville are safer and friendlier than other areas … I’ll keep assuming this, but will be more diligent about locking my cars; and that makes me sad.
Come on guys!! Give Katrien a break! She had her car stolen! Who would have thought that these petty thieves would have come back? I too would like to think that we live in a safe community where we don’t have to keep everything under lock and key. Right now I’d like to thnk that at least we live in a kind and caring community where we support each other in their times of need instead of scolding them.
Kat, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help out, even if all you need is a caring ear to listen to you vent.
My husband found a cell phone (w/o a battery) in the middle of Rt. 250 near the new Harris Teeter in Crozet. It’s blue & silver Cingular – Sony Ericcson (sp) phone. Does this description fit anyone’s missing cell phones from the car break-ins? If not, probably just a broken phone someone was tossing out the window 🙁
First let me say, that I am very sorry that Katrien and her family have had to go through this. When I made the earlier comments, I should have said that I regretted that they were in this situation. And I am truly sorry that I said what I said in the way that I did.
I am not always careful to lock things up and on occasion I do leave valuables in my car. However, once I heard that we had some thefts in Crozet, I felt the need to double check my car before leaving it for the evening, making sure cell phones, ipods, and my purse were taken from the car. That is where Katrien and I differ.
Secondly, just because we live in a small community does not mean that we don’t have people who can drive in or people living amongst us who may do things that are harmful to other people. The difference in living in a small community is that we often know the victim. In addition, because we know each other, we often are well aware when someone is in our neighborhood that we don’t know. I dare say that if we saw someone breaking into their own home because they were locked out, we would not call 911 because we would know them. Most likely, we would help them break in!. But we also may find that we know the perpetrator too. And sadly, they may be related to someone we know and like.
If you know Crozet history, we have young adults incarcerated after burning down a home causing a young mother and her child to die. We have had young middle school students responsible for scaring our community due to bomb threats. We have had young adults responsible for shooting at cars on 64 and at buildings. These are all people from our Crozet community. They came from families in our community and it is difficult to imagine the pain that their families have gone through as a result. It is hard to imagine your own child being taken away in handcuffs to spend the night(s) with people who you don’t know and are pretty sure are not nice people.
Do I think that just because they are young that they shouldn’t be punished? Absolutely not! But what I am saying is that when we KNOW that things are going on in our community (in this case, thefts during the night/early morning), we should be more careful! I regret that I didn’t simply say that.
I would like to encourage my neighbors to leave their outdoor lights on overnight. Every home in our neighborhood has a lovely little outdoor lamp post style light near the street, and many of us also have lights at the back of our homes that would shed light onto where cars and personal property are parked. I happened to be walking home the night of the break-ins, and our neighborhood was pitch black. Perhaps if the chance of being seen is greater, the chance of a return will decrease.
Additionally, I think a rather responsible thing for the neighborhood to do would be to share this suggestion with other neighborhoods that are similar to ours (perhaps b contacting the HOAs?), which is to say lot’s of homes close together, few garages, and not particularly well lit.
Finally, I will also continue to assume that I live in a safer and friendlier area. It is a quality of life that I deeply value, and is one thing that these thieves can not steal.