Theft: in San Diego

[Brad Roberts]

OK. Call me crazy, but is the theft in San Diego 5x higher than anywhere else in our Golden State?

I have now had 3 vehicles broken into and parts stolen out of all 3 of them. All 3 of them happened to be sitting behind the shop off of Miramar and two out of three are 914's. They stole the seat and steering wheel out of a factory 9146 including the gauges (they took the adapter for the wheel also.. funny how they KNEW what size socket to bring with them) ??? WTF ?? The second car: they took the steering wheel off the adapter after smashing in the small vent window. They tried and tried to remove the sterio with no luck. Instead they caused a S-load of damage to the dash area.

I'm 35 years old. One time at age 22 I had a set of racing small block chevy (Air Flow Research) aluminum heads "taken" from me. Hard earned money. I left them at a machine shop to have the valve springs changed out, and one of the employees took them and never returned. The business folded soon after. BS I have never had anything stolen from since age 22 until now.

OK.. final piece of the puzzle. Last night 4 3 piece BBS wheels (18inch variety in Silver) were stolen from AJ's 5th wheel trailer along with a couple of grand in hand tools and misc other crap (like one tire warmer?? again.. WTF??)

Help me locate some of the pieces and parts. I know damn well they are going to show up around here somewhere. Who steals 3 piece wheels setup with both center lock and Porsche 5 lug?? No tires mind you. How they got into the trailer has me a little puzzled also. They knew exactly what tiny special/security "bit" they needed to remove the handle?

Thoughts?? Sorry for the rant. I'm pissed off.


Brad

[ronaldtrotter]

Don't blame you for being upset. I had the Bilstien shocks stolen off my Baja Bug in the parking lot at my work (a school). I also race sail boats and have had stuff stolen off of them. Always it looked like people knew what they were looking for and how to get it (read inside job). My son also had his passenger side window broken to steal a six pack of Bud!!! even though the door was unlocked how stupid can a crook get. I'll keep an eye on Craigs list and ebay. Seems things show up there alot.

[Dan Chambers]

Brad:

Very bad news. I'm sorry to hear you were "hit."

Like many "thefts" that occur at shops, storage facilities, and construction sites, information about inventory, security set-ups, and "best time to hit" is most likely coming from "inside," as Ron hints at. Even if the "perp" isn't employed by a shop, construction site, etc., they might be a friend, relative, or associated with the location in some way. I've had tools and equipment stolen from more than 1 job-site. Each time, it was someone, or a friend of someone, who worked at the site.

Ironically, people devulge information to possible theives without knowing it. Someone might slip-up and mention a failed security system, a fake pad-lock, or a darkended parking lot where goodies are stored. They might talk about it over a beer in a bar, and not realize they're putting stuff at risk to "sticky-fingers with good hearing."

I'm hoping you're insured against your losses. As for the location of the theft, it's no longer safe, and may be re-visited in the near future. Investment in flood-lighting, a remote camera survailence system (cheap now-adays .... hooks up to your office PC), and/or a lean-fed Rottweiler on a length of chain (.... which also makes a nice friend during business hours ) may be needed for securing the site.

Best of luck on recovering your losses.
Dan'o