GCPD: Don’t Leave Items In Plain View in Parked Cars

It’s summer time and more and more people are spending time at parks in Lawrenceville and throughout Gwinnett County.

They’re bringing their coolers, their kids’ bikes, and leaving their wallets.

On the morning of Friday, June 21, Gwinnett County Police were called to Alexander Park about a car break-in. At about 9am, a woman arrived at the park. An hour later, she returned to find her right rear passenger window shattered. The purse she’d hid in the backseat under a towel was gone.

The next day, a couple went to Ronald Reagan Park with their children. After spending two hours at the park on that Saturday evening, they discovered the driver’s side window of the car smashed and the woman’s purse gone. There was no cash in the purse, but the woman later found a fraudulent charge of $300 to her bank debit card. The man also noted broken glass in two spaces next to his and said to officers he thought other vehicles may have been broken into.

Another purse was stolen from a parked car at Ronald Reagan Park Monday. That car had dark, tinted windows, however the thief was able still able to spot the woman’s handbag in the backseat.

“We recommend not leaving valuable items in plain view, or placing those items in the trunk after you’ve arrived at your destination,” said Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department. “Thieves may already be watching when you arrive. If at all possible, it is best to not to leave any valuable items in your vehicle.”