Can you imagine getting your stolen car back and having to clean it vigorously because you have no idea whether or not the thief has COVID-19?
Two Darien residents had their unlocked vehicles stolen in town last week, then got them back. A stolen Greenwich car was found near where one of the Darien cars was stolen. At another household unlocked four vehicles were entered, and three more vehicles were entered outside of two other houses in town. The incidents occurred on two different overnight periods.
Police gave out these details of the incidents:
50 Old Farm Road and Berry Lane
At some point overnight from Sunday to Monday, March 29 to 30, a 2017 Range Rover was stolen from the driveway at 50 Old Farm Road. As ever in these incidents, the SUV was unlocked and the keys left inside. Police were called at 6:44 a.m.
The vehicle had a tracking device showing it was on Woodward Avenue in Norwalk, and Norwalk police confirmed it was there. Darien police detectives went to the SUV to examine it for evidence.
While police checked the nearby area (something they commonly do because thieves commonly try to enter many cars in the same neighborhood) they found a 2019 Audi Q5 nearby on Berry Lane. It had been stolen from a Greenwich resident on Sound Beach Avenue. Police in that town were contacted, and the car was towed off.
130 Five Mile River Road
During the same overnight period, four vehicles parked, unlocked, outside a house at 130 Five Mile River Road were entered, but nothing appeared to have been taken.
The vehicles were a 2012 Mini Cooper, a 2013 Fiat 500, a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2006 Jaguar X.
33 Dubois St.
Overnight Friday to Saturday, April 3 to 4, a 2012 Jeep Cherokee was stolen from the driveway of a home at 33 Dubois St. True to form, the vehicle was left unlocked and with the keys inside.
The owner reported the theft to police at 7:32 a.m. At 6:08 p.m. the next day, Sunday, Bridgeport police notified Darien police that the Jeep had been found on Maplewood Avenue in that city.
Bridgeport police said the vehicle was parked with several other stolen vehicles, and when police approached, numerous juveniles were seen running from the area. Darien police detectives went to the scene to examine the Jeep for evidence.
57 Dubois St.
The same night as the car on Dubois Street was stolen, an unlocked 2020 Subaru Ascent parked outside 57 Dubois St. was entered and a pair of sunglasses and a $20 bill were missing. Police were called at 12:05 p.m., Saturday.
59 Dubois St.
Nearby, at 59 Dubois St., a 2011 Honda Pilot and 2007 Honda Accord, both unlocked and parked in the driveway in the same overnight period, were entered.
Nothing seemed to be missing. The complainant called police at 11:16 a.m. and told them she believed some of her mail might have been stolen as well, because an envelope containing a check had been put in the mailbox and was found not to be there, although the mail shouldn’t have been picked up yet.
Several other cases of stolen mail have been reported in the past two months, and police have suggested that residents not put outgoing mail in their mailboxes.