- April 24, 2024
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Jan. 13
Downsides of a keyless entry system
6:52 a.m. First block of Bruce Lane. Stolen vehicle. A 41-year-old woman told deputies that someone stole her red 2015 Mazda sometime on Jan. 12 or Jan. 13.
She thought she’d locked the car, but may have left a spare key fob in her work bag on the rear seat. The car had a keyless entry and keyless start system, so if she had left a key inside, a thief could have entered the car without damaging it.
She said she’d only had the car for about four months, had bought it from a dealership, and still owes money on it.
At the same address, another person said his unlocked car was ransacked, and a Taurus .45 caliber sub-compact semi-automatic pistol, with 10 rounds in the magazine, was stolen from the center console. The gun was the only item stolen from the car, and a laptop in a bag on the backseat was untouched. Deputies did not dust the car for fingerprints because there was dew on the outside of the car.
Jan. 13
Tooling toward a prison sentence
9:29 a.m. 5900 block of State Road 100.Burglary. Employees at an electrical power company arrived at their worksite the morning of Jan. 13 and found a fence cut.
About $3,500 worth of tools — including a $400 24-foot extension ladder, $1,200 power robo-cutters, $150 power cut off grinder, $250 worth of scrap copper, and a $1,500 AED — were stolen from vehicles which had also been burglarized before, on Jan. 8.
There were surveillance cameras on the building, and an employee told deputies he would provide them with the footage once the company gave him the video.
Jan. 15
Man in the mirror
12:55 p.m. First block of Rose Drive. Car burglary. A 61-year-old man went into a hardware store, returned to his car, and discovered that a thief had made off with his TomTom GPS, worth about $130, as well as the rearview mirror (worth $50), which he’d wrapped the unit’s cord around.
He’d left the car unlocked, and it was not damaged during the theft. He told deputies that he didn’t know who may have stolen from him, and that he’d been in a hurry at the hardware store because he had a noon appointment.
The man told deputies he’d already spoken with store staff to ask if there might be surveillance footage, but they told him the store’s cameras, pointed at the entrances, didn’t cover the parking lot.
Not how you repay a favor
8:29 a.m. 100 block of Aldo Drive. Larceny. A man went to a hunting camp in Taylor County Jan. 4 and did some shooting with his Taurus 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
As he was leaving the camp, the stuck the gun in between the driver’s seat and the center seat of his truck. Along the way, he found a hunter whose vehicle had broken down, and he stopped to help the man. The victim let the man inside his truck to retrieve a tool.
He didn’t realize the gun was gone until Jan. 15.
The man told the deputy he keeps the truck locked at home, and the deputy noted no evidence of a break-in. A GPS on the dashboard and several other valuable items weren’t stolen. The firearm was listed as stolen in a crime database. Deputies had no suspects.
Jan. 16
Just out for a joyride?
2:45 a.m. First block of Seaman Trail East. Stolen vehicle. A 47-year-old woman told deputies that her 2011 Toyota Corolla was stolen from her driveway. It had last been seen at midnight by a neighbor walking their dog. At about 2:30 a.m., the woman’s daughter walked outside, and the car was gone.
The mother, daughter and neighbor didn’t know who might have taken the car, but the mother said she had looked for her keys the previous morning when she was getting ready for work, and had not been able to find them. She used a spare. She and her daughter said they had not lent out the key.
While a deputy was responding to that call, dispatch got another call about a strange vehicle with its lights on, parked on a driveway on Smokehouse Place.
It turned out to be the stolen car. There was no damage and nothing was missing except the key.
