Car prowlers targeted numerous vehicles belonging to residents of the West Winds Apartments at 3059 Island Crest Way on Friday night and into early Saturday morning, March 2-3, and a total of six vehicles were prowled. A woman’s Honda Accord and Toyota FJ Cruiser were entered, and a stereo was stolen. Another stereo was stolen out of a Ford Windstar, and other vehicles prowled included a Hyundai Accent and Pontiac. Someone also entered an unlocked Toyota SUV, and the estimated damage and loss totaled $60 after the suspect pried open the locked glove box and stole one of two checkbooks.
Altogether, 14 car prowls were reported over the weekend.
“It appears that one of our officers interrupted the string of prowls at approximately 3:52 (a.m.) when he attempted to contact two male subjects in the lower level of the park and ride,” operations commander Dave Jokinen stated. The two men, dressed in black and carrying backpacks, fled toward 81st Avenue and up the stairs on the garage’s north end. They dumped rolled quarters on the ground while running. Police recovered the quarters, but a K-9 track ended in a cul-de-sac in the 8200 block of S.E. 26th Street. The incident remains under investigation.
The quarters — totaling $20 — had been stolen out of an unlocked Toyota Previa, along with 40 rental property keys, in the 2000 block of 82nd Avenue S.E., next to I-90, in the early morning hours. The suspects rummaged through the glove box and center console, but the vehicle was not damaged. In the same block, a car stereo and DVD player worth $200 were stolen out of an unlocked Nissan Altima. Later that morning, a 59-year-old man found a car stereo face plate at 8:45 a.m. in that block.
In more car prowls, someone stole a $10 bill out of an unlocked Toyota Sienna van overnight in the 2200 block of 78th Avenue S.E. No damage was done. A GPS unit and vehicle registration were stolen out of a Mazda Protege in the Landmark Plaza Condominiums parking garage in the 7900 block of S.E. 34th Street sometime overnight. In the same block later in the afternoon, between 12 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., someone entered a Volvo 940, but it was not damaged. No items were stolen, and the victim did not know if the vehicle had been locked.
Someone unsuccessfully tried to remove a navigation system from a Mercedes-Benz and damaged it in the process in the 2700 block of 76th Avenue S.E. The car was entered sometime after March 1, but no items were stolen and several valuable items were left in the car. A latent fingerprint was lifted. A Garmin GPS unit worth $200 was also stolen out of an unlocked Ford Taurus in the 2200 block of 80th Avenue S.E.
