Neighbors have learned that car burglars have been targeting their upscale and otherwise crime-free neighborhoods in Collin and Denton Counties.
A cross-county crime spree happened Tuesday morning under the cover of night, according to police and two victims.
Courtney May of Frisco says she set about her morning routine, walking out to her car parked in the driveway of her home, only to discover it was gone.
She called Frisco police to report the crime and posted about it on a neighborhood Ring application.
“That’s where I discovered that it was being used for a crime spree,” she said.
May was stunned to see her white 2022 Nissan Sentra captured on home surveillance video in nearby The Colony.
The thieves not only dumped her son’s car seat on the side of the road, she says they used her car to commit more crimes in multiple cities, including The Colony and Plano.
“It’s one thing for it to be taken and it’s another for it to be used for harm,” said May.
Home surveillance video shared with NBC 5 shows people dashing out of a white sedan at around 5:24 a.m. near the 5900 block of Clearwater Drive in The Colony.
“I do know that there were four of them,” said May. “They were fully masked, all of them, and that they broke into cars. I’ve heard 17 for sure. There are possibly more.”
Tracy Collins of The Colony also walked out to her SUV on Tuesday morning and almost immediately noticed something was wrong. Her Bronco did not appear to be locked.
“I opened my door and everything from my center console was in my driver’s seat, and everything from the glovebox was on the floor of the passenger seat. I was like, something’s going on. Something’s wrong.”
Collins’ break-in is one of at least three burglaries reported on the same block, according to The Colony Police Department.
“We haven’t made a definitive link to put all of these things together, but it’s certainly something we’re looking at,” said The Colony Police Sgt. James Barfield. “We’re still very early stages of the investigation on this, and I know the detective just got assigned that case this morning.”
The Colony Police detectives are working with Frisco and Plano police detectives, he added.
Plano Police spokesman Officer Andrae Smith confirmed to NBC 5: “We’ve received more than five reports of vehicle break-ins (BMVs) as of August 5th, just this week. There has been an increase in these incidents over the past week or so. We can confirm that we believe there is a connection between the stolen vehicle in Frisco and several other recent break-ins in neighboring cities. A large number of these break-ins involve suspects looking for unlocked vehicles and rummaging through them.”
Police say, unfortunately, some of the victims made for easy targets by leaving the cars unlocked.
“I would say about 85% of the vehicle burglaries we have in our area are because people left their vehicles unlocked and left valuables in them,” said Barfield. “We just want to encourage everybody to remember: lock your cars, remove your valuables at night.”
Smith echoes the message: ‘Lock your doors and remove garage door openers from your cars.’
In May’s car theft, she says she noticed her car key fob had accidentally slipped off.
“The key was still in my keychain, but the actual fob was in the car,” she said.
This slipup may have meant her car was unlocked when the thieves approached.
There was also a change in her routine.
May says she typically parks in her garage, but left it out on her driveway because her brother’s car was in the garage.
The car has yet to be found.
Perhaps more concerning is that the thieves appear to be seeking garage door openers.
Both women hope the string of incidents, whether linked to the same people, serves as a reminder for people across North Texas.
“Don’t put your garage door openers in your car because mine was still in my car,” noted Collins.
If you have been victimized or have any information on the car burglaries, call Frisco, The Colony, or Plano police.
Great Job Maria Guerrero & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Source link for sharing this story.
