I first noticed something wrong with my car before opening the door: a stack of business cards, normally placed in my center console, was strewn about the passenger side when I loaded up for work on a Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
My first thought was, \u201cI don\u2019t remember it being this messy.\u201d My second, \u201cI\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t leave the newsroom camera in my car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then: \u201cThis is where it pays to have a trunk hatch lever that doesn\u2019t work\u201d; and, finally, \u201cI really need to start locking my car.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I got to the Empire that morning, I found out I wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n
A recent string of vehicle riflings around town has community members churning through a similar thought process, and though circumstances differ \u2014 luckily, I didn\u2019t have anything of value in my car; the would-be thief even recognized my sunglasses as the $5 sort \u2014 the conclusion remains the same: I wish I had locked my car.<\/p>\n
The Juneau Police Department has received reports of at least 27 vehicle riflings since Oct. 18, more than one a day. From Oct. 18 until Nov. 4, burglars have made off with nearly $1,825 worth of property and much more in property where value wasn\u2019t reported to police.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a lot, that\u2019s not typical,\u201d JPD Public Safety Manager Erann Kalwara said. \u201cThey usually just kind of come and go. It\u2019s not uncommon when we get one, we get four or five, where one or a few people just go on a string of this kind of criminal activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reports have come from all over town, with several locations standing out as hot spots. Eleven of those reports have come from the downtown area, six from Douglas, six from the valley and one from Thane Road.<\/p>\n
Locations with multiple hits include: Distin Avenue, Franklin Street and Gastineau Avenue downtown; Nowell Avenue and Seventh Street in Douglas; and Mendenhall Loop Road, which has been targeted by thieves the most in this time period, with three reports stemming from the sparsely lit thoroughfare.<\/p>\n
As unusual as the numbers, the list of stolen items ranges from loose change to original art pieces and even car parts themselves.<\/p>\n
Kiara Alexander\u2019s story may be the most unusual. The health worker was enjoying a night with her son on Oct. 22 \u2014 they caught The Addams Family musical at Juneau-Douglas High School before heading to Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts to purchase some last minute costume items.<\/p>\n
She said she didn\u2019t have anything of value in her car.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe drove over to Jo-Ann\u2019s, and I didn\u2019t lock my \u201898 Subaru because it costs less than whatever may be in there,\u201d Alexander said during a phone interview. \u201c… We were gone for about 30 minutes. When I came out, I went to go start my car and the clutch didn\u2019t come back up. I could drive it, but it could only start, that\u2019s all it could do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander thought her car needed fluids, so she drove it to the JDHS auto shop. There, Stephen Squires, an award-winning small engines teacher at the school, found something unusual.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody had cut the clutch cord and had stolen a bracket, totally missing,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cSquires couldn\u2019t figure out why it would happen. \u2026 I mean, he\u2019s a really experienced mechanic, he can tell if the cord broke or was cut. It was cut.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander posted her story on Facebook a few days later. That\u2019s when she learned a friend had his lug nuts stolen in the same parking lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, that sucked!\u201d she said of the ordeal. Alexander is a former addiction counselor, and said she thinks the recent car riflings could be drug related.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my experience, when value is stolen out of your car, yes it\u2019s usually a common thing to happen in areas where there are high rates of drug use,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat\u2019s weird is that nothing of value was stolen, we\u2019re talking about a $40 part.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to Alexander\u2019s clutch cord bracket, unusual stolen items include: a $200 piece of original glass art, along with $400 worth of art supplies, taken from a car parked on Auke Bay Harbor Road;<\/p>\n
Kalwara said JPD is aware of the situation and their patrol officers are on the lookout for suspicious activity, but these particular cases haven\u2019t been solved yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes what will happen is they start on a corner and check doors, check doors,\u201d Kalwara said. \u201cIf there\u2019s somebody doing that when somebody drives or walks by, it will often scare them off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kalwara also had advice for those wishing to avoid making a report.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocking is a great deterrent. There aren\u2019t too many people that are going to break into a car if it\u2019s locked,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cParking on well-lit streets and areas with heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic will help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Sports and Outdoors reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"