We got robbed in Kendall (car burglary)... (Homestead: fingerprints, crime rates)

[dryoyo]

Well, this is how it went last Sunday (2/27) for us, as I can recall...

We were invited to a party at certain park in Kendall. We got there at around 2pm, since the parking was less than 50 feet from our party area, and with full clear view of it, and knowing that on previous parties in other places we had friends that got their stuff stolen, I told my wife to leave her purse in the car, well hidden under her seat, after all, the car was within clear view, what could happen? Well, we went on to play around with the kids and mingle with other people and at around 4pm I noticed a commotion in the parking area. It turned out that 4 cars were broken into and stuff stolen. I looked at our car and inmediately noticed the passenger glass missing, when I got closer, it was clear that we were one of the victims. My wife's purse was missing, it was the only object missing from our car. Police had already been called, so I proceeded to call the banks and freeze and/or cancel cards and accounts, to my relief, none of our cards were used yet, but one of the other guys had already been charged $2k in electronics at BJ's. Some of the guys at our party drove around to see what they could find, they came back with my wife's now-empty purse, nothing else.

When the cops arrived, got our info and stuff, and told us that up to that point of the day, they had 23 cars reported broken into in parks around the Kendall area. They told us that these gangs were making a killing during weekends at those type of places. Our car had been washed and waxed the day before and we could clearly see the fingerprints on the door, which I know must have been the thiefs', but he said there's nothing they can do with those, since anyone could've touched our car and it would prove difficult to lay blame, only fingerprints inside could be used. I pointed to him that 2 security cameras were within direct range, maybe to combine that and the fingerprints and run it through their database, maybe the guy has previous record, but the answer was no. Anyhow, he said: "these guys are well-organized and coordinated, they do it here, on the malls, at restaurants, all over the place. Right now some must be here....among all the people in this park are the ones that watch who comes in and what they bring or have, the ones that survey cars to see which ones are worth breaking into, the ones that actually do the stealing, the ones in the getaway vehicle, etc." I wondered how they managed to break the glass without setting off the alarm and he told me that they have methods to do so, most commonly applying pressure on the glass using a hot spark plug (the tip), and it breaks easily (don't know about this though, good stuff for the mythbusters to test).

Anyhow, I managed to block everything without loosing much, other than the cash in the purse, to this day, no purchases or transactions were made. The cop told us to change banks, not just bank accounts, because the way the do it (they had the license, debit card and the checkbook) is leave the account dormant for 1-2 weeks, and let the victim close/open new accounts, then, they will go through the victim's bank's drive-thru windows, make a small deposit but on the deposit slip, don't write the account number, just provide the stolen license, a small amount of cash, and the slip, the teller usually verifies the paperwork, and when they see that the account number is missing, proceed to make the desposit and write the new account number on the slip, handing back the thief the completed carbon copy deposit paper, and along the way, the new account number and possibly current balance. He says it's being done at all banks with great success for the thiefs. I went to my bank and asked about it, and was told it could be possible for that to happen (as with any security system, there could be flaws). So I had to go through a whole lot of changes to secure my family's economic resources, get new license, change house locks, etc.

The thing is that they went after grab and go stuff, they did not go into the center console, or glove compartment, not time for that, just break into, grab whatever of value is there, and run... So, after all was said and done, we managed to resume our daily chores and go on, there's always a first time for everything, I guess that it was our turn...

[cixcell]

the spark plug thing isnt the tip. its the ceramic. ceramic shatters safety glass for reasons not entirely understood yet.

thieves here usually go for grab and go stuff. last year a friend of mine had his wallet stolen right off the table right in front of him and the kid ran off into a bunch of alleys and they never found him.

[dryoyo]

Thanks for the info about the ceramic... Man, what a hassle to go through afterwards!

[doggiebus]

OP - Sorry to hear about this, but not surprised. These guys are smart, they either were watching people pull up or saw the purse some how while looking into the car. A friend of mine had a similar incident at Harry Harris Field in Homestead last summer. I tell people on here to never leave anything of value in your cars. All I have in my car is a lint roller and a comb. If I go to an event like you did I wear cargo pants, put what I need in the pockets and leave my purse at home. At home I don't leave my car keys in site of the front windows. I put my purse away too. A friend of mine put her purse on a dining room table also, thief broke into the house with 6 people in the house and an alarm and still managed to get her purse. I have had neighbors that have had all four rims and tires off their cars stolen, car left on blocks all while they were asleep in their homes. The police have many of these stories, they have caught a bunch of these guys, but there are so many of these guys around doing this.

It's really sad that there are people in our community that would rather steal from their community than rather make an honest living...

[cixcell]

part of the reason for that is lack of jobs. crime rates naturally increase during recessions.

[popcorn247]

It is amazing to me that people leave valuables in their car! Take your purse with you.... camera, etc. Its a lot more hassle to deal with the aftermath of having items stolen than to carry a purse with you. It is a shame we have to do this, but there are lots of bad people out there! So sorry you had such an ordeal. Sure wish the police would set up some plain-clothed officers in these parks and try to catch the thieves in action. It seems like the cops have given up!

[cixcell]

popcorn: theres actually a crackdown going on where theyre going through a backlog of like 30 years of arrest warrants. right on the street by our house they blocked off the whole street for a good 20-30 minutes with cops all around and there was a guy they arrested right in the middle of the street. i cant believe they actually blocked the street to arrest one guy.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

I don't even leave a pack of cigarettes in my car because you never know if they'll break in to grab those and it's not worth the hassle and expense for a fricken pack of smokes.

Sometimes, when I have a few errands to do at a time, I will put my stuff in the trunk. I'm sure that if someone wanted to, and they were watching, they'd find a way to get in to that trunk, (break the window, release the trunk latch, whatever), but it will be more time consuming. Especially because you can't open my driver's side door! I was going to fix it but I figured it was a bit of a deterrent. So ha ha on them.

But anyway, yah, never leave anything in the car, not a CD, not smokes, not your purse or cell phone. You never know what value someone finds in that stuff and makes your life a hell afterwards for their greed.

[WINTERFRONT]

What part of Kendall ?

[WINTERFRONT]

HAHAHHAHA, cops give those scumbags too much credibility... LOL They are well organized? LMAO!!

Most of those idiots are primitive at best, and never have a definite plan or tactic - AT the most they might have one or 2 things as a planned routine, but that's not to say they are well organized HAHAHAH

You know you're dealing with amateurs :"but one of the other guys had already been charged $2k in electronics at BJ's"

Cops won't help you much tracking those guys, btw.