Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Burglars rifle cars for remotes

Cash, iPods, and other valuables left behind

Leaving your garage door remote in your car is an engraved invitation to burglars.
Leaving your garage door remote in your car is an engraved invitation to burglars.

A few weeks ago, eight houses on Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa were all hit on the same day. A garage door opener previously stolen from one Black Mountain resident's car was used to break into his garage that day. A very expensive bike was stolen.

Recently, Victor G. of the Clairemont Olive Grove area alerted neighbors on NextDoor.com that his SUV had been dug through in the middle of the night. The next morning, he found the center console, glove compartment, and overhead storage all open and empty. He also found an expensive pair of glasses, cash, and other minor things of value still there. At this point, he realized that he had left his car unlocked and that the opportunist had possibly been searching for the garage door opener.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Two years ago, something similar happened to another neighbor in the same area. Video surveillance shows a 20- to 30-year-old blonde male casually opening his car and riffling through everything while leaving money, an iPod, and other valuables behind. What was most surprising was how casual the thief was as he set a huge soft drink on top of the SUV before ransacking the car. This same neighbor regrets not reporting it to the police because of it not being a forced entry and nothing having been stolen. At the time, it hadn't occurred to him that the garage door remote might have been the focus.

A few months ago, the same thing happened to a North Clairemont resident. At the time, it was well-known that a lot of kids were looking for loose change in unlocked cars. This time the thief did take a pair of sunglasses and iPhone ear buds. Luckily, the resident disengages her garage door opener every night with a smart remote option leaving it useless if stolen.

Diane D. from the Clairemont Olive Grove area said, "I've had this happen to me three times already on Berwick Drive." In one incident, Diane shared, someone stole an old car radio remote from her vehicle. She surmised that the thief probably mistook it for a garage door opener.

Two months ago, an East Clairemont resident had her car broken into as it was parked in front of her home. This time the thief did get away with the garage door remote. The resident changed the code the next morning upon discovery.

And most recently in the North Clairemont area on Saturday, Steve R. found his car had been rummaged through after accidentally leaving his car unlocked. He also found nothing of value taken.

Neighborhood Watch is starting back up in many neighborhoods and will be sharing lots of tips and reminders with residents such as: remembering to lock your car, leaving no valuables or garage remotes in vehicles, locking side gates, and having motion/flood lights in the front or side of a house. All of these things deter the opportunistic criminals who are prone to riffling through vehicles in the middle of the night.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Spa-Like Facial Treatment From Home - This Red Light Therapy Mask Makes It Possible

Leaving your garage door remote in your car is an engraved invitation to burglars.
Leaving your garage door remote in your car is an engraved invitation to burglars.

A few weeks ago, eight houses on Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa were all hit on the same day. A garage door opener previously stolen from one Black Mountain resident's car was used to break into his garage that day. A very expensive bike was stolen.

Recently, Victor G. of the Clairemont Olive Grove area alerted neighbors on NextDoor.com that his SUV had been dug through in the middle of the night. The next morning, he found the center console, glove compartment, and overhead storage all open and empty. He also found an expensive pair of glasses, cash, and other minor things of value still there. At this point, he realized that he had left his car unlocked and that the opportunist had possibly been searching for the garage door opener.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Two years ago, something similar happened to another neighbor in the same area. Video surveillance shows a 20- to 30-year-old blonde male casually opening his car and riffling through everything while leaving money, an iPod, and other valuables behind. What was most surprising was how casual the thief was as he set a huge soft drink on top of the SUV before ransacking the car. This same neighbor regrets not reporting it to the police because of it not being a forced entry and nothing having been stolen. At the time, it hadn't occurred to him that the garage door remote might have been the focus.

A few months ago, the same thing happened to a North Clairemont resident. At the time, it was well-known that a lot of kids were looking for loose change in unlocked cars. This time the thief did take a pair of sunglasses and iPhone ear buds. Luckily, the resident disengages her garage door opener every night with a smart remote option leaving it useless if stolen.

Diane D. from the Clairemont Olive Grove area said, "I've had this happen to me three times already on Berwick Drive." In one incident, Diane shared, someone stole an old car radio remote from her vehicle. She surmised that the thief probably mistook it for a garage door opener.

Two months ago, an East Clairemont resident had her car broken into as it was parked in front of her home. This time the thief did get away with the garage door remote. The resident changed the code the next morning upon discovery.

And most recently in the North Clairemont area on Saturday, Steve R. found his car had been rummaged through after accidentally leaving his car unlocked. He also found nothing of value taken.

Neighborhood Watch is starting back up in many neighborhoods and will be sharing lots of tips and reminders with residents such as: remembering to lock your car, leaving no valuables or garage remotes in vehicles, locking side gates, and having motion/flood lights in the front or side of a house. All of these things deter the opportunistic criminals who are prone to riffling through vehicles in the middle of the night.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader