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Latest Spate of Overnight Vehicle Entering/Thieving: 11 Vehicles at 10 Addresses on Three Streets in One Night

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The latest string of overnight thieving from and entering vehicles occurred from Monday to Tuesday, Sept. 23 to 24, involving 11 vehicles at 10 addresses on Oak Park Avenue, Nolen Lane and Leeuwarden Road, according to Darien police. In every case, the vehicle was left outside, unlocked. The first report came to police at 6:15 a.m., Tuesday. In the list below, we’ve noted when items were reported stolen (if no item is noted, it appeared to the owner that nothing was missing):
Leeuwarden Road:
25 Leeuwarden — 2014 Lexus RX

39 Leeuwarden — 2017 BMW 540 — canvas bag containing Bose headphones and an iPad mini 

44 Leeuwarden — 2018 Ford Explorer

101 Leeuwarden — 2008 Toyota Highlander

108 Leeuwarden — 2015 Honda Fit

117 Leeuwarden — 2018 Tesla S — $6 taken
Oak Park Avenue:
5 Oak Park — 2019 GMC Sierra

11 Oak Park — 2000 Toyota 4Runner — Wallet stolen from the vehicle along with contents and $60 in cash. 

23 Oak Park — 2016 Ford Explorer — about $25 in change, a gold necklace, a wedding ring.

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Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Two Cars in Same Neighborhood Stolen Amid Spate of Vehicle Entries Overnight, March 11 to 12

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Of course they were all unlocked. Every last one of them. Overnight from Sunday to Monday, March 11 to 12, two vehicles were stolen from streets off of Middlesex Road near Stamford and four vehicles in other parts of town were entered. This article also has information on two previous entries into motor vehicles that the owners believed had been left unlocked. Here are the details, according to Darien police.

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Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Slew of UNLOCKED Vehicles Entered Overnight in 3-Block Area of Noroton Heights

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Several thefts were discovered on Friday from 17 unlocked cars and sport utility vehicles entered overnight  — 13 on Allen O’Neill Drive and four more on Herman Avenue, two blocks to the east. The 17 vehicles were parked outside nine homes on Allen O’Neill Drive and two homes on Herman Avenue. Most of the vehicle owners in that Noroton Heights neighborhood told police they didn’t find anything missing, and the list of items looted from the vehicles is pretty short: A wallet (with an unknown amount of money in it), a dart set valued at $160, a Dunkin Donuts gift card, a Macy’s store card. Vehicles reported as having been entered but with nothing stolen from them usually have items from the glove compartment or center console strewn about inside or are found with doors left ajar. After police were notified early Friday morning by one of the victims who found items taken from her sport utility vehicle, police canvassed the neighborhood and quickly found many other cars that had been entered.

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SUV Stolen on Friday Is Now Found, Driver Says She Was Distracted When She Left Keys Inside

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Update, 11:02 a.m., Dec. 7:

A Darien woman posted a note on Facebook that she was the victim who mistakenly left her keys in her SUV last Friday before it was stolen. She said she was just distracted at the time and usually locks her vehicle, which has been found. Lucy Oldrin posted this reply just before 11 a.m., Thursday in a Facebook discussion under the Darienite.com post that linked to an article about the theft. In the Facebook discussion, there was quite a bit of harsh criticism of the woman for not locking up.

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Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

One Unlocked Vehicle Entered on Leroy Ave Last Week

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A male on Leroy Avenue told police that someone entered his motor vehicle overnight from Sunday to Monday last week. That Monday morning, Nov. 20, when the victim came to the vehicle open. The vehicle hadn’t been locked overnight, the victim told police after calling them at 8:25 a.m.

The vehicle was parked outside a house at 149 Leroy Ave. No other resident of the area reported that a vehicle had been entered that night; police did not say whether they went around the neighborhood to ask if anyone knew of anything suspicious. Police did not announce any other vehicles being entered over the course of the rest of the week.

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Two Motor Vehicles Stolen, Two Others Entered Overnight Thursday to Friday in Darien

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Overnight from Thursday to Friday last week, two vehicles were stolen and two others were entered in Darien, police say, with three of the incidents happening around Tokeneke. None of the investigations were over as of Monday afternoon, police said. Thefts
In the first incident to be reported, at 7:24 a.m., Friday, Nov. 17 the owner of a green 2000 Acura Integra told police he left it locked in the driveway of a home in the 300 block of West Avenue the night before. He said the vehicle only had one key, and he still had it.

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Car Theft Burglary Post PD Facebook 11-20-17

Area Police Chief: Revolving-Door Legal System Contributes to Spate of Car Thefts

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The Waterbury gang members stealing unlocked motor vehicles from outside homes in Darien, New Canaan and other area communities often have been arrested multiple times in the past, according to New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. Krolikowski’s comments came days before Darien Police Department posted an alert Saturday on Facebook and Twitter that three more cars were stolen overnight in town. Those arrested are nearly always juveniles — some as young as 14 years old. One girl arrested in connection with the thefts in New Canaan had been charged with 53 felonies “and she was not even held, she was released,” Krolikowski told members of the New Canaan Police Commission last week. “The justice system lets them get arrested multiple times,” he said at the Nov.

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Darien Police Have Some Tips on Preventing Motor Vehicle Burglaries and Thefts

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For the past few months, towns in Fairfield County have experienced a substantial increase in the number of both motor vehicle burglaries and stolen motor vehicles. The Darien Police Department has employed various tactics such as unmarked patrols, “bait” cars, and other investigative methods in an attempt to deter and apprehend the persons responsible. What To Do
While we are doing everything we can to impact the recent increase in incidents, we want to take the opportunity to give the residents of Darien some guidelines on keeping their vehicles and valuables safe. Always Lock Your Vehicle
The vast majority of the motor vehicle burglaries we respond to are of vehicles that were left unlocked. Often the suspects will pass over another vehicle in the same driveway because it was locked.

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Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Unlocked Cars Stolen in Northern Darien, New Canaan Over Weekend

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Three cars were stolen in New Canaan and another one in Darien this weekend, and two of the New Canaan cars were later found in Waterbury, according to announcements from each town’s police department. Two other cars were entered, one in New Canaan, the other in Darien. In every single case, the vehicle was unlocked. In every case in which the vehicle was stolen, the keys were inside. “These crimes are being committed by suspected gang members from Waterbury,” New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said in a news release.

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Lousy Way to Start the Day: Thefts from Two Unlocked Vehicles

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One resident of Avalon Darien found out her SUV was burglarized, her purse taken and her bank accounts drained of $1,200 on Saturday when she received a 6:30 a.m. email from her bank. Another resident of the same complex at 137 Hollow Tree Ridge Road told police that at about 11 a.m. that same day, Oct. 28, he went to his gray 2010 Ford Fusion and found his center console open and his iPod missing. Both victims had left their vehicles unlocked. Darien police are investigating each of the thefts, believed to have happened overnight from Friday to Saturday, Oct.

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Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Purses Stolen at Same Time of Day from Two Vehicles Left Unlocked in the Same Area of Downtown

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Purses were stolen from unlocked vehicles downtown, one on Tuesday, Oct. 3, the other on Thursday, Oct. 5 after they were left for just minutes, each of the victims told police. Police gave these accounts of what happened:

Each of the vehicles was parked near 780 Post Road, the building where Houlihan Lawrence (formerly Kelly Associates) real estate offices are located. The thefts took place shortly before 12:58 p.m., when they were reported to police.

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Unlocked Jeep With Keys Inside Stolen Overnight in Darien, Possibly Used in a Stamford Shooting

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An unlocked Jeep Wrangler, parked outside with the keys inside it, was stolen from outside a house at 8 Glenwood Dr. sometime overnight from Friday to Saturday, and later found in Stamford, Darien police said. The vehicle, which had been pursued by Stamford police, was thought to have been used in a shooting in that city, Darien police said they were told. Darien police gave this further account of what happened:

The owner reported the theft to police at 9:19 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 30. Another vehicle left in the driveway wasn’t disturbed.

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Two More Unlocked Vehicles Entered Overnight in Darien

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Before a slew of unlocked vehicles were entered overnight Saturday to Sunday, items were stolen from two others in Darien, the owners told police. Here are the details of what happened and where, according to police reports:
1 Tulip Tree Lane, Sunday to Monday
Sometime overnight, Sunday to Monday, Aug. 13 to 14, a gray 2015 Ford Escape parked outside the house was entered and a briefcase with a laptop in it was taken. On Monday morning, the owner realized that the SUV had been entered because the glove box had been left open, but didn’t realize anything had been taken. He thought he had probably left the vehicle unlocked.

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Police: On a Dead-End Street in Darien, Driving a Stolen Car from Stamford: Two Teens from Bridgeport

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When a police officer stopped a car on a dead-end street just off the Post Road at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday, the driver and passenger turned out to be two 16-year-olds from Bridgeport, and the car turned out to have been stolen from Stamford, police said. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

While on routine patrol on the Post Road, a Darien police officer noticed three cars going east on the Post Road. The officer was alert to any suspicious behavior at night because of the ongoing wave of car entries and thefts. So the officer followed in his patrol car when all three cars turned onto Salt Box Lane, a dead-end street in the same area where many of the burglaries and thefts have taken place, including several just last week. As the patrol car approached the three vehicles, one of them made a sudden U-turn and went back onto the Post Road.

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Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Several Motor Vehicles Entered, Attempt Made to Steal One, All in Noroton

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Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, cars were entered on the lower end of Hollow Tree Ridge Road and nearby Wilson Ridge Road, and in one case an attempt was made to steal an SUV from a driveway, police said. Each of the vehicles was unlocked, despite repeated thefts from vehicles many times before in that same neighborhood. Darien police gave these accounts of what happened, listed in order of the times police found out about the vehicles being entered:
Attempted Theft: 33 Hollow Tree Ridge Road
A resident awoke just before 12:27 a.m. after hearing a loud banging sound. Looking outside, the homeowner discovered that the sound had been made by the homeowner’s white 2016 Honda Pilot being driven into the garage door. The SUV’s door was ajar.