Be safe when on the Greenways (Mission, Commerce: crime, credit card, limo)

[ashbeeigh]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to remind everyone to be careful with their personal belongings when on the trails. I went for a run this morning and thinking things have been safe for the past 4 years I have used Salado Creek, Leon Creek and the Mission Reach extensions left my purse in plain site. I was gone for just over an hour (between 6:45 and 8) and my window was broken with my wallet and purse stolen. This was at the Tobin Park trailhead between Harry Wurzbach and Perrin Bietel. I was also told by bikers and runners that this is the second time in recent days that this has happened at that particular location.

The people who took my things had already tried to use some credit cards that I had not activated (probably saved me a bit) but did charge $1 at a gas station near by (yes $1....why $1? Buy the whole store for goodness sakes).

Please be careful no matter where you are with your stuff. It goes without saying that you should hide it, but don't take how safe you feel (like I did) for granted.

Have a great Saturday!

[Me007gold]

They didnt charge a $1 at a gas station, they bought gas. When a purchase is made at the pump it authorizes $1 to make sure the card is good, then once the process the days transactions it will update to the final amount.

People are just savages.

[Bo]

Sorry this happened to you, ashbeeigh.

We north siders sometimes have an unrealistic expectation that everywhere north of 410 is safe. But according to SAPD, the Perrin Beitel corridor is one of the highest crime areas on the north side, FWIW.

[ashbeeigh]

Ahh. Well good for them. I hope that's all they were able to buy. I had $30 in there they should of just used that. Or maybe they did both. No other transactions were reported so they weren't as fast as they thought they were.

Originally Posted by Bo

We north siders sometimes have an unrealistic expectation that everywhere north of 410 is safe. But according to SAPD, the Perrin Beitel corridor is one of the highest crime areas on the north side, FWIW.

Absolutely and of all the places I run, that and near Roosevelt park are the two I would say are the least safe. I used to work in the area too and never felt safe after about 8pm. It's just a shady little area for some reason. I know the District council person is trying to fix it up, but at this point, I'd be more comfortable on Zarzamora and Commerce than this part of the city.

[L210]

Your belongings are NOT safe in plain sight in ANY part of town. Car burglaries are very common at the Rim. A few years ago, there was a rash of car burglaries in Stone Oak due to people leaving iPods and other expensive belongings in plain sight. The Perrin Beitel area is not the best area on the NE side, but car burglaries are common everywhere. While I wouldn't hang out at Chacho's at Perrin Beitel/410 at night, I wouldn't say the area is less safe than the area around Zarzamora and Commerce. I don't know if this is still the case, but there is a reason why the H.E.B. and SAWS customer service center at Las Palmas had armed security. There is no armed security at the H.E.B. on Perrin Beitel, and I've never felt like they needed it. However, that area is a couple of miles north of 410 and near Northern Hills.

[Lee W.]

The $1 charge was to verify that the account is open. It could later be followed by larger charges if you didn't alert your CC company to the situation. In some cases the card might be sold by the thief to those in the market for such stolen cards...or just the info needed to access the account might be sold.

[ashbeeigh]

[quote=Lee W.;35237840]The $1 charge was to verify that the account is open. It could later be followed by larger charges if you didn't alert your CC company to the situation. In some cases the card might be sold by the thief to those in the market for such stolen cards...or just the info needed to access the account might be sold.[,/quote]

They're all cancelled. They got my purse between 6:45 and 7:15. The first charge was at 7:15 and then one at 7:22 and another at 7:53. I was on the phone with 911 at 7:58 and everything was cancelled by 8:43. They were all in the 78217 area, so they didn't go far. I just hope that if they got cash out they used it for something useful like diapers or food for their family and not video games or TVs at Wal-Mart.

[ggeorgie]

I'm sorry to hear that. It happens frequently. My truck is a magnet for thefts although they don't break the glass, they pop the lock out. It's happened 4 times in 4 years. Quarry, Pappadeaux, Hardburger Park and dog park on west ave that trails connect to other parks.
So, I got my driver and passenger windows tinted darker, illegal but so far so good. Not limo super dark but the one under and I don't care if I get pulled over and ticketed because the ticket is less expensive than re keying the busted out lock. AND... I don't leave valuables laying around.
Does it matter what you drive for people to get broken in? My theory is if you leave something in plain sight, they are going for it; do nicer vehicles get broken into more often even if something is not in plain sight?? I don't know; ask a thief..
This is a very frustrating topic...
Bottom line, if they want to break into your car, they are going to.
The quarry incident went down like this: 6 guys hit about 12 cars in less than a minute, broad daylight. Security on bikes saw it and they jumped into a back of a truck with no plates and exited quarry by Basse, went west and down McCullough..

[KM1174]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Hi everyone. I just wanted to remind everyone to be careful with their personal belongings when on the trails. I went for a run this morning and thinking things have been safe for the past 4 years I have used Salado Creek, Leon Creek and the Mission Reach extensions left my purse in plain site. I was gone for just over an hour (between 6:45 and 8) and my window was broken with my wallet and purse stolen. This was at the Tobin Park trailhead between Harry Wurzbach and Perrin Bietel. I was also told by bikers and runners that this is the second time in recent days that this has happened at that particular location.

The people who took my things had already tried to use some credit cards that I had not activated (probably saved me a bit) but did charge $1 at a gas station near by (yes $1....why $1? Buy the whole store for goodness sakes).

Please be careful no matter where you are with your stuff. It goes without saying that you should hide it, but don't take how safe you feel (like I did) for granted.

Have a great Saturday!

1 dollar is going to turn in to a lot more at a gas station

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I was on the phone with 911

please tell me you got a ticket for wasting 911's time on something you can report ONLINE

Originally Posted by ggeorgie

So, I got my driver and passenger windows tinted darker, illegal but so far so good.

why would you admit something you did illegally on a public forum? second, dark tint = more of a magnet, not less. what are you hiding in there is what thieves are thinking.

third, good luck getting inspected every year without having to remove then reapply the window tint! LOL! unless youre getting illegal tags with your illegal tint...

some people REALLY just need to follow the law SMDH

[smuboy86]

Originally Posted by KM1174

please tell me you got a ticket for wasting 911's time on something you can report ONLINE

Why would she get a ticket for reporting a crime in progress? That is what 911 is there for.