Community Corner
Darien, Where We Unlock Our Cars for Burglars
If you're a vehicle burglar (or considering that career path) you'll have a pretty easy pickings in Darien, where the doors are unlocked and items are free for the taking—sometimes even the whole car.
Items ranging from a BMW to loose change inside other vehicles were found stolen from the driveways of homes in the southwest corner of Darien on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
The burglar or burglars apparently entered the vehicles overnight Monday to Tuesday and again Tuesday to Wednesday. One resident on Anthony Lane reported seeing a person running on or near her driveway at about 4:30 a.m.
A resident of Relihan Road had a gray 2011 BMW X3 station wagon stolen from his driveway sometime between 7:15 p.m. Monday and 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. A spare key fob may have been left in the vehicle, and the victime said he wasn't sure if he'd locked it up on Monday night.
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A 2009 Volvo XC70, sitting in the same driveway, was left unlocked and also entered. A Magellan GPS valued at $200 was taken.
But wait—there's more
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As police on the scene investigated that incident, officers were approached by another Relihan Road resident, who said three vehicles—all unlocked—parked in his driveway had been entered.
To avoid monotony, the following table displays the facts, as given by police, except for the car theft and the first reported burglary described above:
Timing
Street
Year,
Make &
Model of
Vehicle
Locked? (No,
we don't really
need this
column)
Loot
Reported
Stolen
Tuesday,
Nov. 20
Discovered
at 9 a.m.
Thomasina
Lane
Yes, and purse inadvertently left on floor
Wallet valued at $200 and containing $400 in cash; the owner canceled the credit cards in the wallet shortly after the burglary, before any were charged
Tuesday,
Nov. 20
Discovered about 9:30 a.m.Relihan Road (1 of 3 at same residence)
2002 Ford Escape
Yup: Unlocked
iPod taken from drivers seat
Tuesday,
Nov. 20 Discovered about 9:30 a.m. Relihan Road (1 of 3 at same residence) 2004 Toyota TacomaAlso unlocked
Not stated by police
Tuesday,
Nov. 20 Discovered about 9:30 a.m. Relihan Road (1 of 3 at same residence) 2011 BMW 328xiUnlocked, of course
GPS device
Wednesday,
Nov. 21
Suspect seen running up driveway at 4:30 a.m. (too dark to describe suspect)Anthony
Lane
2012 Toyota RAV4 Ditto $7 in dollar bills removed from glove compartmentWednesday,
Nov. 21
Relihan
Road
2003 Chevy Malibu You know it. Small amount of change possibly taken from glove compartmentEditor's note: Police did not give out the street numbers for the victims. The accompanying map shows the location of the first address of each street mentioned (1 Anthony Ln., 1 Thomasina Ln., 1 Relihan Rd.) to give a sense of where the streets are in town, not to show the exact adresses of the burglaries.
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