A window was smashed and a purse stolen from inside a car while a family was visiting Cherry Lawn Park last week, police said.
Darien police gave this description of the incident:
While family members were playing in a field at the park, a black SUV with tinted windows pulled into an empty space next to their car, a 2014 Honda Odyssey. The family was at the park for only 15 to 20 minutes when they returned to the car to see the driver’s side rear window smashed.
A cream blue Ann Klein purse that was on the floor behind the driver’s seat was missing. The purse, owned by a 38-year-old Stamford woman, is valued at $100 and contained a pink leather wallet with $20 or $30 in cash and six or seven credit cards, the woman’s driver’s license and an iPhone 6.
The “Find My iPhone” feature of the cell phone had been turned off by the time family members tried to use it. None of the credit cards appeared to have been used as of the time of the police report, but the victim was advised to tell her financial institutions to cancel her credit and debit cards.
At the time of the theft the park was crowded with families and sports participants, but when police asked around, no one said they saw the theft.
The incident is somewhat similar to the kind of thefts the Felony Lane Gang perpetrates, police said, although those thefts usually happen in groups, and the credit cards or checks are used quickly.
Not having a purse visible from outside your vehicle may prevent this kind of crime. A purse can be put in the trunk or covered to hide it. (Felony Lane Gang members have been known to watch at parking lots to find people who put purses in the trunk of the car, then smash a car window in order to reach in and pop the trunk open.)