to the people who broke into my pickup (while parked in my driveway)seriously get a friggin job, some of us work our asses off for the stuff we have and you come along and feel that you can just take whatever you want!

If I catch anyone stealing from my pickup in my driveway I can assure them that it will be their last time. Unless their body is bulletproof of course..

I wasn't aware that only the unemployed were thieves.

it was the middle of the night or early morning they broke into it so i was not awake at the time (dispatch said there were other vehicles broken into on my same street so i feel for anyone else who has had this happen
and bridger i did not say they all were unemployed i merly meant they need to find something else to do like find a or another job to pay for the poop they think they need and not steal

For God's sake, people, DON"T LEAVE VALUABLE STUFF IN YOUR VEHICLES! Thieves won't break into cars that don't promise goodies.

I caught a very ballsy young man in my driveway trying to get into my van while I was sitting on my couch and could see everything he was doing. He was quiet surprised when I opened my sliding glass door and asked him what the "eff" he thought he was doing and while standing there looking at him called dispatch and watched him and his two friends in the ally run! Too bad to took twenty five min for someone to come looking for them! They are lucky I caught them and not my husband as he would have given chase and followed them!

I feel so bad too. I live on cottage and me and my roommate are missing an ipod and sixty bucks so ya these losers need to get a life .... but I thought it was my friends but everyone lock your vehicles and houses!

[This message has been edited by jerseygirl (10/30/2011)]

There are so many things being stolen and vandalized that I think the community really needs to band together to catch whoever is doing this. The neighborhood watch concept. I'm thinking paintball guns to mark them Just kidding, but I never heard anything about my stolen snowblower other than maybe it ended up as scrap metal ( a $1000) snowblower for scrap? really! Something really needs to be done asap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan, You have the right idea. Paintballs are rather inexpensive and if you are a good shot maybe the "sting" will help them remember the next time they take things from other people. We, too, had our vehicles broken into and things taken. It didn't happen during the night, it was like 7:30 in the evening. Talk about bold.... Anyway, dogs barked, my husband went out and heard them as they took off down the street. He called the cops and guess that's all a person can do until they finally are caught. However, we do have a surprise, for whoever next time....if they are dumb enough to try it again and I guarantee they aren't going to like it. Sounds like this is going on all over our city. Too bad!!!! I agree that people need to remove valuables from their cars, etc. but the object is that "YOU STAY OUT OF OTHERS BELONGINGS WHETHER THEY ARE LOCKED UP OR NOT." It's called RESPECT!

You are right thy do need respect .. and Paintball guns are an amazing idea and if the cops aren't going to do anything then we do need to start a neighborhood watch just like you all said .. kids just need to stay home and stay outta other peoples cars ... if whoever did it reads this .... know you are pathetic! !

If I catch anyone stealing from my pickup in my driveway I can assure them that it will be their last time. Unless their body is bulletproof of course..

Yes, because murder is morally superior to petty theft. Do you keep anything worth a human life in your vehicle, Roy? If so, that's almost as pathetic as someone breaking into your vehicle to steal it.

I had my car broken into a few weeks ago. It pissed me off, but whoever did it didn't get anything because I'm not so stupid to leave anything worth stealing in my car. But even if I had made a mistake and ended up leaving something valuable to be swiped, I'd never advertise my inadequacies so blatantly by threatening to kill someone over it.

I bet your rig has truck nutz on it, doesn't it?

Crush Brothers?

Well I wouldn't go as far as murder but maybe a good a** beating.


As for saying you're dumb for haveing valuables in your vehicle, we live in a small community with mostly trusting people. Why shouldn't we be able to leave them in our vehicles?

lets just say if i find them breaking into mine they wont break in anymore.

As for saying you're dumb for haveing valuables in your vehicle, we live in a small community with mostly trusting people. Why shouldn't we be able to leave them in our vehicles?

Uh, because of the many incidents of theft reported on this very thread? It's one thing to trust your neighbors. It's another to waive a free ipod in their faces and then say don't take it.

I love anonymous macho posturing on message boards. Always makes me proud to be an American.

I left the keys to our vehicle hanging in the trunk lock, one day. By the time I realized they were gone, we had lots of ideas about where they went, until.......we started missing gas in the car, and found things on the floor that we knew weren't ours. The kids that took my keys actually came back several times, to take the car and then return it before morning. I disabled the starter, and suprised a teenage boy getting out of the car at 2 in the morning. It just goes to show; nothing suprises me any more.

It seems that the humane way to stop thiefs isn't working.

1.) It's thieves.
2.) Try harder.

I suppose having anything of value in your house is fair game, too. That's just stupid to blame the victim.

@Brian: a thieves life isn't worth the phone charger I leave in my pickup. If they are bold enough to break into my pickup, then they are probably going to move on to breaking into my house. No my truck does not have truck nutz on it. Does your minivan?

[This message has been edited by Roy Simanton (10/30/2011)]

I wasn't blaming the victim, JJC. In fact, I was wasn't responding to the original post at all; I was replying to Mr. Simanton.

I was also suggesting that killing someone over anything material is ludicrous. I also suggested that a better solution to killing someone over anything material would be to avoid leaving valuables in a place where they can be stolen with relative ease.

Now that we're all on the same page ...

Nope, not a minivan (although I'm secure enough to drive one). Granted, my Forester may not be considered by anyone to be the manliest vehicle, but it's reliable, gets good mileage, has decent leg room for my 6'4" frame and is a very safe vehicle to transport my two sons.

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (10/30/2011)]

I love the idea of shooting thieves with a paintball gun. "Tell the cops they're looking for two teenagers, partially painted pink". Odds of success are very low but it would almost be worth it getting the car messed with. On the other hand, with my luck I would probably jump out there with the paintball gun and the thief would have a real gun and shoot me with it.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (10/31/2011)]

Your dealing with a little click of juvenile offenders. It's a thrill thing for them as much as it is for the little bit of money they produce for themselves. You can't win by a confrontation with them. Hit em and your sued. Heck, chasing them down and just physically holding them now a days would most likely get you in trouble. Best of all defenses is not making yourself an easy victim. Don't leave anything tempting in open sight. Keep your car locked and in a well lit area. They'll pass you up for easier targets of opportunity.

a thieves life isn't worth the phone charger I leave in my pickup. If they are bold enough to break into my pickup, then they are probably going to move on to breaking into my house.

Actually, most vehicle breaks-ins are simple crimes of opportunity. These thieves are simply trolling for goodies in cars. House burglars are a whole different breed. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.

--This has been a public service announcement from a Neighborhood Watch area leader and former criminal prosecutor.

Back in the good old days, before the fence at Pine Hills, when it was a training ground for car thieves, anyone who got their car stolen or broken into got laughed at because we knew those little felons were at large.

While Pine Hills is a whole lot more secure and the kids out there are a whole lot worse than car thieves, anyone who leaves anything valuable in their car gets little sympathy. I had a tire pressure gauge stolen once by some kids who were just horsing around, going through cars that weren't locked. It was my fault for not locking but the tire gauge had been free so no big deal.

It was right around Christmas so maybe some dad got a nice tire pressure gauge for the holidays and I remember to lock the car.

If they actually broke into the car, that isn't opportunity, that is experience, and that is a whole 'nother thread. Still, leave nothing valuable in the car and leave it locked. Common sense.

Glenn, I agree with you. Probably a bunch of teenage punks out for a thrill, not really money. It is a shame that trying to protect your property would probably end up with you in jail yourself or being sued by the criminal. If a person knows this kind of mischief/crime is going on in their area, they should take steps to make their property less appealing. I live in South Gate. I usually don't keep valuables in my car or lock it. But with all the break ins I have read about on this post, I will be doing it.

The store where I work used to sell home stereo equipment. One time somebody went around and shoplifted all the styli (otherwise known as "needles") out of all the turntables on display, and they also lifted the spindles out of the turntables too.

My snowblower was the large size requiring multiple people to lift it into a vehicle which would need to be a pickup. It was in my yard that has a motion light with a street light not far away. It was inside a fenced yard, too.

It all comes down to respecting other people's property.

There are many businesses advertising for help. Get a job or a second job if necessary. With all the help programs in town, people shouldn't need to steal or vandalize. If they are busy working, they should not have time or be too tired to be out doing criminal activities. Remember, it is not funny or cute, these are criminal offenses.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows that only poor people steal.

Exactly! How much did Bernie Madeoff with again?

Good one bridgier lol

I guess I would leave nothing in my vehicle, and leave it unlocked. That way they don't break a window thinking something of value is locked up inside. And yes, I have had a window broken out so some moron(s) could steal a Kmart bag full of pop cans, gum wrappers, and other garbage. The cop thought that was pretty funny, but that funny thing cost me $200 to have my driver's side window replaced.

[This message has been edited by K. D. (10/31/2011)]

i love bernie, taking money from rich people, and misappropriating it. just like a politician....only difference is that he did not have to pass bunk legislation to do it.

i bet bernie is obamas hero...

are these break ins being done on unlocked vehicles? or are they somehow picking locks or breaking windows?

A locked car will deter those just cruising around, like teenagers. But someone intent on getting the goodies in the car won't have a problem with breaking a window. It takes only a few seconds for an experienced thief to break into a car this way. The best thing is to not tempt them in the first place.