Unlocked-Vehicle Bandits Strike
Three more vehicles left unlocked in driveways in Barrington reportedly ransacked.
Three more unlocked vehicles in the same Sowams neighborhood were reported ransacked to Barrington police late last week, with items valued at thousands of dollars reported missing.
A vehicle parked at 9 Baron Road was entered sometime overnight on Friday, June 8, according to the police. Reported stolen from the vehicle were a laptop computer worth $1,500, a digital camera worth $800, a handbag worth $100, and $5 in cash.
A vehicle parked at 21 Colonial Avenue in the same neighborhood was reported entered overnight Friday, police said. The owner reported that a GPS worth about $100 and a Nintendo game player worth about $100 were stolen. The incident was reported to police early Friday afternoon.
Another larceny from an unlocked van parked on Commonwealth Avenue was reported to police late Saturday afternoon, June 9. Reported missing from the vehicle was a Coach purse valued at $300 and several credit cards in the purse.
In the moment
7:46 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Surprise! Unlocked vehicles in Barrington ransacked! There is no pleasure in reading about people's misfortune, but truly, these are cases of residents believing that Barrington is Mayberry.
James
8:27 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Why would anyone bother to pick Barrington to ransack unlocked cars - you can only get $2,400 worth of loot in a single pick. They must have had their common sense stolen previously.
mark mason
9:00 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
http://www.patch.com/activate/66264e45fde88e65e34b8cb809da8a1c7812c856
mark mason
9:01 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
In the scurry and confusion of having two young children and a new baby I did in fact forget to lock my car and it was in fact robed MY error but for those of you with your negative input IM glad to know there is people out there that are perfect like you. My best to you: Mark Mason 21 Colonial ave
Gary Morse
9:13 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Sorry to hear of your loss Mark. For myself, I took the above comments as a "wake up Barrington" post for all of us leaving the doors routinely unlocked, myself included.
Amy
9:33 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I'm sorry Mark that is horrible. I've been there but they caught the kid who got me and he had to pay me $2.10/month for 2 years to learn the lesson that he didn't belong in my car. Hope they catch him and definitely make him/her pay.
Gary Morse
9:07 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
These areas appear to be areas that a perp wouldn't park their car and then set out on a looting spree (too obvious). Residents have to assume these are drop-offs. Don't think that your area is safe just because the neighborhood is watching for strange cars.
Thank you Donut and James for your "on point" observations.
James
9:20 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
No problem Garymm, Barrington is obviously easy pickings for these thieves. Seems like every Patch story about it involves at least one car with more than $1,000 in property. I don't know how many "unlocked-bandits" we have caught, but they don't seem to be going away.
May be we should get the teenagers that hang out in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot at night to patrol the streets, on the lookout for these bandits. They would probably do it for cigarettes and iTune gift cards.
Mark's story I could see happening to me, GPS and a handheld game system is mandatory in a car with kids.
Joel Hellmann
9:44 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
It happened to me last year, they got a very old Zune and $2.40 in loose change. It was the week before the outdoor cameras were put in. Nextime I will be able to show the video on patch. And By the way, there is over $3.00 in my car now.
to those who say lock your door. When I lived in fall River I did lock my door. The thieves just broke the window to get the $3.00. The window cost $125 to replace. The real lesson is not to leave anything in your car you are afraid to lose. When you empty the cash register in a store, in the draw you leave it open so they can see there is no money. Lock the register they will break the cash register to get it open
Gary Morse
10:21 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Joel,
Good points, but I'm going to assume that in Barrington, the noise would be enough for a call to the police.
Same thing happened to me when I lived on the East Side (Prov). Nobody bothers to notice up there either.
In the moment
10:04 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Mark, my sarcastic remark wasn't directed at any one in particular, and am very sorry for your unfortunate loss. Have done the juggling you described and believe me, I remember how much goes undone or forgotten. That said, there is longstanding joke around town about the police blotter (and now Patch reports) being filled with things like thefts from unlocked cars - mostly due to our friends and neighbors being overly trusting, and then being surprised when things disappear.