Darienite - News for Darien

Darienite (https://darienite.com/tag/unlocked-in-darien-2020)

Unlocked in Darien 2020

Burglary of a School

Middlesex Middle School wikipedia 5-25-16

An Unlocked Exit at Middlesex School Allows Nighttime Entry for Two — Who Elude Cops, K-9

By David Gurliacci | December 7, 2020

You know what police say about locking your car at night. It applies to schools, too. A burglar alarm at Middlesex Middle School got police to the scene, and quick enough for them to see two people through a second-floor window, but both ran through the building and escaped, police said. After police spotted the people in the building, a police dog and several more officers were called in to search the school. Police were alerted to the hijinks by the alarm at 11:32 p.m. on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Darien Stolen Motor Vehicles 2020

Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Unlocked Darien Vehicles Recently Targeted for Burglary, Theft

By David Gurliacci | September 2, 2020

The most recent spate of vehicles being entered overnight in Darien took place from Thursday to Friday, Aug. 24 to 25. Police know of five vehicles entered on Oakshade Avenue, three on Libby Lane and one each on Holly Lane and Stanley Road. (This article also includes information on other vehicles entered in recent weeks.)
Entered Overnight Thursday to Friday
In one case, on the 300 block of Hollow Tree Ridge Road, the owner of a 2019 Land Rover was woken up at about 12:30 a.m. by a sound in his driveway. “He looked outside and saw two males attempting to gain access to his vehicle, which was locked,” the announcement said.

Public Safety

Police Patrol Car SUV Police Car Police

Maserati Stolen, Other Vehicles Entered Tuesday Night to Wednesday Morning

By David Gurliacci | August 3, 2020

A thief was able to “experience the scintillating performance of the Maserati Levante” (as the manufacturer describes the SUV) by making off with the apparently unlocked 2019 vehicle sometime Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, Darien police said. The theft, from outside a home on Old Kings Highway South, did not include the main set of keys, which the owner still has. But the man thought the spare set might have been in the vehicle. The 2019 model, when new, had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price starting at $75,980. The owner reported the theft to police at 3:34 a.m., Wednesday.

Public Safety

Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

On Two Nights, Different Car Theft Groups in Darien: Teens Found and Charged in One, Car Stolen in Another

By David Gurliacci | June 11, 2020

Two Norwalk teenagers admitted they were trying to steal a car in Darien when police caught them on Wednesday, June 3, and on Saturday to Sunday, June 7, a vehicle was stolen and later found in Hartford, police said. On each of the nights, unlocked cars were targeted, and multiple vehicles were entered, Darien police said. Also on each of those nights: Home security cameras showed people creeping around at about 3 a.m. In the stolen-car incident, that didn’t stop a resident at the same address from leaving car unlocked. The cars entered were at locations including streets well off the main roads in town and had one main thing in common — their owners had left them unlocked, and in at least one case, with the key or key fob inside. Here are the details, as provided by Darien police (including accusations not proven in court):
THE 3 CASES TUESDAY TO WEDNESDAY
Teens Charged
At 2:54 a.m., a security camera at a home on Littlebrook Road picked up two males running up the driveway near a parked vehicle.

Public Safety

Bank Cards Stolen from Unlocked SUV on Hollow Tree Ridge Road

By David Gurliacci | June 2, 2020

Sometime between 6 and 7 p.m., Thursday, May 28, various bank cards and $50 in cash were stolen from an SUV outside a home at 157 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, police said. According to police:

The owner told police that her 2007 Honda Element was unlocked when it was entered, and that the bank cards and cash were in card holder that also held her driver’s license. When she reported the theft to police at 7 p.m., she said there hadn’t been any activity on her cards and that they had all been frozen. Recent Similar Reports

Three Unlocked Cars Entered on Patton Drive on Same Night Last Week (May 28)
Four Vehicles Entered Overnight on Edgerton St, Hollow Tree Ridge Rd, Thief Gets Wallet from One (May 21)
Three SUVs Entered Overnight, May 4 to 5 on Hillcrest Ave, Miller Road (May 12)

Both a Car and an SUV Stolen on Same Night in Different Parts of Town (May 7)

Public Safety

Police Patrol Car SUV Police Car Police

Three Unlocked Cars Entered on Patton Drive on Same Night Last Week

By David Gurliacci | May 28, 2020

Three unlocked cars outside two homes on Patton Drive in Noroton Heights were entered overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, May 20 to 21, police said. Meanwhile, police in Stamford and New Canaan have noted that more vehicles are being entered in those towns. The owner of a Toyota Corolla parked outside 5 Patton Dr. told police at 6:42 a.m., May 21 that the car was entered. Items from storage compartments were strewn on the front seats, but nothing seemed to have been stolen, police were told. At 4 Patton Dr., a Fiat 500 and BMW 3 Series were also entered, with items from storage compartments strewn about inside.

Public Safety

Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Four Vehicles Entered Overnight on Edgerton St, Hollow Tree Ridge Rd, Thief Gets Wallet from One

By David Gurliacci | May 21, 2020

Three vehicles were entered on Edgerton Street sometime overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, May 13 to 14, police were told, and one of the vehicles was in an unlocked garage. A wallet with some bank cards was stolen. Apparently on the same night, a vehicle was entered on Hollow Tree Ridge Road, about a half-mile away. This map shows the addresses where the vehicles were entered. Darien police gave out these additional details:
23 Edgerton St.

Public Safety

Purse Stolen, Bank Card Used as Nighttime Thieves Enter Several Unlocked Vehicles

By David Gurliacci | April 28, 2020

By the time a Brookside Road resident realized that her SUV had been entered overnight, her one of her missing cards had been used to buy food from a McDonald’s restaurant in Hartford, police were told. It happened outside one of three homes where motor vehicles were entered overnight in Darien last week. During the same period, an SUV was stolen, also overnight, as the owner herself saw happen. None of the police announcements mentioned evidence of the cars being broken into; some of the announcements said that a vehicle or vehicles were unlocked. Police gave these accounts of what happened in each case from sometime Sunday night to Thursday morning, April 19 to 23:
Brookside Road, Monday to Tuesday, April 20 to 21
The victim, a resident of 283 Brookside Road, learned from her bank that one of her bank cards had already been used at a McDonald’s restaurant in Hartford, but when she called police at 10:33 a.m., Tuesday, April 21, she wasn’t sure how much had been spent.

Public Safety

Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Eight Motor Vehicles Entered, One Stolen, Overnight Saturday to Sunday, March 21 to 22

By David Gurliacci | March 23, 2020

Eight vehicles, all but one unlocked, were entered overnight from Saturday to Sunday, March 21 to 22 on two streets near downtown — on Highland and Lakeside avenues — and on McLaren Road South, about a half mile north, police said. One SUV on Lakeside Avenue was locked, but it was stolen anyway, apparently after it was entered by someone breaking a window, police said. The 2017 Subaru Forester was involved in an accident at about 3 a.m. in Westport, after a short police chase there. Darien police contacted the owner, who told them that the vehicle had been locked, with both set of keys in the home — but a valet key had been in the glove box. The spot where the SUV was parked had broken glass on the ground.

Public Safety

Police Patrol Car SUV Police Car Police

Four Unlocked Vehicles Entered on Fitch Ave; Next Night, One More on Dickinson Road

By David Gurliacci | February 3, 2020

Four unlocked vehicles were entered overnight last Wednesday to Thursday, all unlocked and outside of homes at four addresses on Fitch Avenue, according to police. Nothing was taken from any of them. Over the next night, another vehicle was entered a block over, on Dickinson Road — that vehicle also was unlocked and, again, nothing was reported taken. Here’s a map showing each address where a vehicle was entered. Both streets are in Noroton, near Town Hall, and someone walking could pass by each house within five minutes, according to Google Maps (although, again, the Dickinson Road incident was reported a day later and apparently took place the night after the three on Fitch Avenue).

News

Police Darien Police Lock Your Car Every Time

Vehicles Entered in Noroton Heights Overnight Monday to Tuesday, Jan 20 to 21

By David Gurliacci | January 30, 2020

A wallet with $200 and bank cards in it was stolen from a pickup truck parked outside a home on Scout Trail sometime overnight Monday to Tuesday, Jan. 20 to 21. The theft was one of four cases in which cars were entered in the same overnight period, police said. All of the vehicles were within 1.3 miles of each other. In two cases, including the one on Scout Trail, the owners told police the vehicle had been locked.

Public Safety

Unlocked Mercedes Stolen Overnight Saturday to Sunday, Found in New Haven

By David Gurliacci | January 29, 2020

The navigation software in a 2018 Mercedes GLA 250, stolen overnight Saturday to Sunday from outside a home on Mystic Lane, was used to figure out where the stolen SUV was — parked in New Haven, it turned out, where police had it towed for safekeeping. Police gave this additional information about the incident:

At 11 p.m., Saturday, the victim had left the car parked in his driveway, unlocked and with the keys inside. At 8 a.m., Sunday, his wife went outside and noticed that the Mercedes wasn’t there. Police were notified at 10:17 a.m.

Darien police contacted Mercedes Benz, which used the vehicle’s navigation software to get the GLA’s current location. That showed the SUV was in the area of 23 Truman St.

Public Safety

Unlocked Vehicles on West Elm St, Hilton St and West Ave Entered Overnight Jan 15 to 16

By David Gurliacci | January 22, 2020

Vehicles continue to be left unlocked overnight and people continue to scrounge around in them overnight, looking for something to steal. The latest incidents — at least the ones police know about — happened outside of four homes within a mile of each other in Noroton Heights sometime overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, Jan. 15 to 16. A Nissan sedan parked outside a home at 214 West Ave. was entered.

Public Safety

Darien Police Sign

Unlocked in Darien: Wallet Stolen From YMCA Locker Is One of a Long String, Police Chief Says

By David Gurliacci | January 20, 2020

A wallet stolen from the men’s locker room at the Darien YMCA on Jan. 8 had $200 in it that the victim is unlikely to ever see again, and Police Chief Donald Anderson recently said it’s a crime that has been repeated for decades — and for the same reason. The locker was unlocked, like so many others in the past. “The incidents of unlocked lockers at the YMCA has been going on for my 36 years of employment here, and for 36 years things have been stolen out of unlocked lockers at the YMCA, Anderson said at a recent Police Commission meeting. “Clearly, police cannot monitor the YMCA locker rooms,” he said.

Events Calendar