Warning about New Territory in Sugar Land (Houston, The Woodlands: HOA, insurance)

[Topaz]

In a supposedly nice neighborhood of New Territory tonight, I left my car for five minutes to run inside a building to pick up my child, and in that five minutes, someone smashed out my car window and stole my purse. Inside my purse was my Blackberry, iPod, Plantronics headset, driver's license, credit cards, and a bunch of other stuff that is difficult to replace.

When the police officer arrived to do a report, he said that New Territory in Sugar Land is being targeted a lot for home burglaries, home invasions, and car break ins. He said that bad guys drive in from other parts of Houston, prey on people, and drive out. My credit cards were used within minutes at a gas station and convenience store in Houston.

Anyway, please don't waste time telling me that I'm an idiot for leaving my purse in the car. I've told myself that already a few dozen times tonight. I'm posting this as a helpful warning to other people. Don't leave your valuables for even five minutes.

[AcresHomes44]

That's messed up. Sorry for your loss and I hope these lowlife clowns get what's coming to them, which they will.

[DrLizardo]

This kind of thing happens anywhere and everywhere. There a places where more criminals live as compared to other places, but in Houston most of them have cars and they make use of them. New Territory is still a nice neighborhood. It's just not a magic fairy kingdom where crime is impossible.

Sorry you got ripped off, but thanks for alerting your neighbors and for reminding the rest of us to not leave our valuable stuff laying out in the open.

And that last part is important. Contrary to popular belief, crooks aren't all lazy morons. They are cunning idiots who would rather steal than work, but are willing to work at stealing. If they're going to steal, most of them are smart enough to take precautions against getting caught and only make an attempt when there is something worth stealing. Most car burglars will look inside a car to see if there is anything that looks worth stealing. If they don't see anything, most of them will move on to the next target. So, if you're going to leave something valuable in your car, just hide it out of sight and you will reduce the chances of a burglary.

[Metro Matt]

As long as the economy stays the way it does, crime will continue to be on the rise everywhere, not just Sugar Land-New Territory.

Sorry for your loss...at least you & your child are safe. Material things can be replaced, lives can't. This is why we have insurance.

[EasilyAmused]

I'm so sorry Topaz. I hope that the recovery and claims process goes smoothly for you. I'm just glad you and your child are safe.

A similar thing happened to me in The Woodlands years ago.It was the only time I was a victim of crime.

[sbhubbell]

Oh Topaz that sucks! So sorry. We've recently gotten an email from the Cinco Ranch HOA about similar incidents, valuables taken from cars and power tools taken from open garages. I haven't heard of any in my neighborhood but I don't take chances. I do blame the economy for what seems to be an increase in this kind of crime.

I will say though, I feel SOOOO much safer, even in downtown Houston in the middle of the night, than I did living in Philadelphia. I love Philly but watching the news was too much to take.

[AK123]

Oh no! I'm so sorry. I hope you can get it sorted out soon, best you can considering.

You are right, it is a nice neighborhood, but they have been watching you first.

Did the police say New Territory is specifically being targeted, or just everywhere?

My friend's home got broken into yesterday while she left to run an errand. It was obvious they were watching to see when she left. The alarm went off, which scared them away but not before stealing her laptop and a few other small things right there in easy reach. She lives on the north side of town near IAH.

Everyone needs to keep an eye out for suspicious activity or people/cars who appear to be lurking...

[westres1]

I think last week I was ridiculed for saying SL had a large number of Home invasions...go figure

[Topaz]

Thanks, everyone...I've gone from shocked to angry to weepy. I spent the last few hours calling credit card companies to cancel cards and putting fraud alerts on my credit record. Tomorrow I'll try to get a new driver's license and find out how to file an insurance claim for theft as I've never done that before.

I miss my Blackberry.

[hsw]

Sorry to hear this Topaz

You're kind to provide heads-up to others, as the "nice" parts of town are where most let their guard down

Hope you're able to resolve everything without too much hassle, but agree with others' comments: material stuff lost is far, far less relevant than lack of physical harm