BOYNTON AUTO BURGLARIES RAMPANT RECENTLY
Claudia Perales didn’t lock the doors to her 2014 Volkswagen Jetta when she came home Saturday afternoon because she planned to head out soon after. Then the 38-year-old and her family decided to stay in and watch a movie instead.
The next morning, while eating breakfast, Perales looked outside and saw her trunk was open. She looked inside her car and found that a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses and her vehicle registration were stolen, according to a police report.
Perales realized she never locked the car doors.
The Boynton Beach resident is one of about 20 car burglary victims reported to police since Thursday. In almost all cases, the car doors were left unlocked, according to police.
Arrests have not yet been made. Police are looking into the possibility that the car burglaries are connected, said Stephanie Slater, the police department’s spokeswoman.
Slater has taken to Twitter to give the public safety tips.
“Almost all of the cars burglarized this weekend were left unlocked. Wallets, sunglasses, credit cards, shoes & jewelry were taken. Friendly reminder to lock your car doors & take anything of value with you. The best #crimeprevention is YOU!” Slater wrote on Twitter.
Slater later added that if you are going to leave your car unlocked, take your valuables out.
Items stolen include coins, a $500 weed wacker, a pair of sandals, eyeglasses and a pink and black Smith & Wesson handgun, according to police reports.
Four auto burglaries were reported on Southwest Eighth Avenue, between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Woolbright Road east of Interstate 95, police said. Several happened along Federal Highway.
Usually Danielle Noonan locks her car doors, but she forgot Friday night. She got in her car Saturday morning and could tell someone ransacked it.
“Someone went through my middle console and glove compartment. They took all the stuff and put it out on the seat,” Noonan said.
She’s not sure if the person took anything, but she does know nothing valuable was stolen. The person also went through her husband’s car and three neighbors’ cars.
“I think it’s awful,” Noonan said. “I’ve never experienced this before but it makes you feel unsafe.”
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