Police Warn: Lock Your Vehicles

The residents of Falcon Wood Drive, Falcon Wood Trace, and Falcon Wood Way suffered vehicle break-ins Jan. 28 - 30. GPS, cash, gum, a HP laptop, tennis balls, and an iPod were taken. All of the vehicles were unlocked.

Jan. 29 or 30 a black 1999 Lexus ES300 was stolen from a Falcon Wood driveway because its spare key was left in the glovebox. According to Officer Joe Hernandez of the Cobb County Police Department, the Lexus was recovered a day later not far from the residence.

"All of the cases are unlocked vehicles, with no evidence left behind or serial numbers to go off of. The only thing that makes Falcon Wood unique is the stolen vehicle which gives us a lot more to work off of," Hernandez said. "If people don’t lock their valuables up there is not much we can do."

Some time between Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 an unlocked Suburban parked on Preswick Drive was entered. A Ruger 380 semi automatic pistol was taken from the vehicle console.  A Magellan GPS nylon briefcase and a Motorola blue tooth were also stolen.

Six unlocked N. Landing Court vehicles were infiltrated by thieves between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5. An iPod, a laptop, change cup, Netbook and camera were stolen.

"Well, I guess I have a false sense of security that my vehicle and belongings are safe when parked in my driveway," Megan Burns, a resident living near N. Landing Court, told Northeast Cobb Patch. "I often leave it unlocked with the GPS stuck on the windshield and sometimes money in the cup holder. Now that I know about the car break-ins I'll lock my doors."

"When thieves target neighborhoods at night for this time of crime, they try to be as quiet as possible to avoid detection. They simply walk from driveway to driveway “flipping” door handles to see if the vehicle has been left unlocked. Please get into the habit of removing your valuables or anything that appears to contain valuables such as gym bags and briefcases from your vehicle and lock your doors," Cobb County Police Precinct IV said in their bulletin.