Chief Advises Pelham Residents to Lock Car Doors

While most of us go to the mall to do our holiday shopping, there are thieves among us who are looking for the chance to take the items they see left behind in unlocked vehicles.

In recent days, several cases of larceny from parked cars have been logged throughout the Pelhams. Chief Al Mosiello said the cases seem to be opportunistic and unrelated.

"Every municipality is getting these," Mosiello said. "They come in spurts." 

Besides not leaving valuables in parked cars, Mosiello also offers a very simple deterrent to potential thieves.

"Very few vehicles [have been] broken into, most are unlocked," observed Mosiello. "People have to be responsible. They have to lock their doors."

Here are several larceny cases being investigated by police in recent days:

• On Tuesday, Dec. 4, a Mount Tom Rd. resident reported that two of her cars had been entered at some point overnight and the contents disturbed. Nothing seemed to be missing.
• Also on Tuesday, around 3:37 p.m. a Jackson Ave. resident reported that when he returned to his car left parked overnight several items were missing from the trunk including a laptop computer, a computer bag and a set of 20 orange safety cones.
•  A woman parked her car overnight in the undergound lot near First St. this weekend. When she returned on Sunday, Dec. 2, around 4 p.m., she discovered a KitchenAid popcorn machine valued at $70 was missing from the car which was also ransacked. On the same day, another motorist parked at the same location reported his garage door opener and $3 in coins had been stolen from his car.
• On Tuesday, Nov. 20, a man parked on the 800 block of Pelham Parkway returned to his parked car to find its door damaged. Inside he discovered his credit cards, identification and $500 cash missing.