LAKEPORT — Police are warning motorists to lock car doors and make sure keys are not left behind after a series of vehicle thefts between Feb. 4 and Feb. 13.
The suspects seem to be targeting unlocked vehicles with keys left inside, according to Lt. Brad Rasmussen with the Lakeport Police Department (LPD), who said the thefts are believed to be connected. There were three vehicle thefts and one attempted vehicle theft, all within close proximity to each other. Two stolen vehicles were left damaged on dirt roads less than half-a-mile apart.
The first was a 1990 white Oldsmobile Cutlass reported stolen from in front of the owners residence on the 1400 block of North Forbes Street sometime between late Feb. 4 or early morning Feb. 5. The vehicle was unlocked with keys inside at the time it was stolen. The keys were not believed to have been visible, Rasmussen said.
It was recovered Feb. 7 on Adams Street, a dirt road. The vehicle wouldn”t start and a car stereo had been stolen. A day later, LPD took a report of a stolen 1997 Dodge Ram pickup from the 1200 block of Berry Street. It was recovered early in the morning on Feb. 9 on Sunset Drive, a dirt road that runs from Hartley Street to Forest Drive, less than half-a-mile from Adams Street. The vehicle was stuck in the mud and had to be removed by a tow truck. A cell phone and keys that had been in the pickup were stolen. The pickup had been unlocked with keys left in the ignition at the time it was stolen. Four days later on Feb. 13, officers were dispatched to the 1200 block of Berry Street regarding a suspicious vehicle. After contacting the vehicle”s owner, police determined the 2000 black Ford F-150 pickup had been stolen sometime late the night before from the 1200 block of Sixth Street. The vehicle was reported to have been locked, but the suspects gained entry by stealing the pickup”s keys from the victim”s other vehicle?a Ford Expedition?that was parked nearby. That vehicle was also locked. “We”re not sure how they gained entry into the Expedition, but they used the keys they found in the Expedition to get into the pickup,” Rasmussen said.
That same day, on nearby Ruby Drive, a resident got into his 1983 Ford Ranger and found it couldn”t start. After observing damage done to its ignition?an attempt to hotwire the vehicle?the victim reported the attempted theft to LPD. “Someone had attempted to get into the vehicle ignition with a pry tool to steal the vehicle,” Rasmussen said. The vehicle had been left unlocked.
At this point, police have not identified any suspects, but do have leads based on the vehicles having been stolen in close proximity and in the same method. Rasmussen said “it”s unusual to have three or four vehicle thefts in that short of a time period.” “First of all we”d like to advise people to lock their vehicles and not leave keys inside. If they see suspicious people or behavior in their neighborhood they should call us,” Rasmussen said. Please contact Lakeport Police Department at 263-5491.
Police continue to investigate the string of thefts, using leads and one finger print that was booked into evidence from one of the vehicle thefts. “There”s good potential that we”re going to be able to identify the suspects,” Rasmussen said.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
