Police ask for residents’ help to deter thefts

Items taken from unlocked vehicles

Thefts of items from unlocked vehicles in residential neighborhoods — and, in at least one incident, the theft of the car itself — could be curtailed if residents would call 911 when they see something unusual, Robinson police Chief Dale Vietmeier said.

For the past month, Robinson police have been responding to calls about cash, valuables and even sunglasses being stolen during the early morning hours from inside unlocked cars. In the township’s Coventry Park neighborhood, a car with the key left in the ignition was stolen from outside a home.

“If something smells, or you see something that doesn’t look normal, please call 911. That is the only way that the police can get dispatched,” Chief Vietmeier said.

The car was stolen Aug. 25. Police set up surveillance the following night along nearby Clever Road and saw the stolen vehicle returning to the area. A pursuit ensued and the car crashed along Phillips Lane, resulting in a 3½-hour manhunt in the woods, police said. They eventually apprehended five youths ranging in age from 12 to 16. None lived in the immediate area.

“I can only tell you on [Aug. 24], we had several residents who actually saw three kids at 3 o’clock in the morning walking on the street in a residential neighborhood. They were surprised and it stunned them, but they thought they were going to be interfering by calling 911 because it’s for emergencies only. It’s not for emergencies only, that’s the only way we can get dispatched,” Chief Vietmeier said during his police report to commissioners Sept. 7.

“They came from all over the place. We suspect most of the time that it’s people from our community or neighboring communities, but these kids were from … the east side of Pittsburgh,” he said.

Robinson police thought they had solved the problem, noting that although these types of crimes happen all over, they are not a regular occurrence in Robinson.

But after the arrests — three of the youths were transported to Allegheny County’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center and two were released to their parents with charges being filed — more car break-ins were reported the following weekend in the McCormick Farms neighborhood and on Waterford Drive off Route 60/Steubenville Pike.

In once instance, a bicycle was stolen from an unlocked shed. Grace Manor, a townhouse community, also was targeted. Several thefts in the Country Club Estates neighborhood were reported this past weekend.

“We have a wonderful community here and wonderful residents, but we’re not immune to crime due to the high volume of unemployment and abusive drug use in today’s society,” Chief Vietmeier said. He again urged residents to be vigilant and report instances to the 911 emergency dispatch center because, if they had, “maybe we would have been able to solve a lot of these crimes prior to them even happening.”