Darienite (https://darienite.com/tag/unlocked-in-darien-2024)
Leaving your 2014 Mercedes-Benz E350 unlocked running while you go inside a building is asking for trouble. And trouble answered outside Darien Library when the vehicle was stolen sometime before 6:09 p.m. (when police were dispatched) on Friday the 13th.
While the owner was playing golf at Woodway Country Club late in the day on Saturday, Aug. 24, someone stole his car, he told Darien police. The car, a 2018 Audi S5, was reported stolen from the club at 540 Hoyt St. just before 7:25 p.m. It had been left unlocked with the keys inside.
Since June, there have been a higher than usual number of vehicles stolen in Darien — a total of 18 as of four days ago, Darien police announced. In response, police are suggesting various tips, at least one of which is probably new to you. Along with the car thefts, numerous vehicles have been entered, often with thefts of things inside, police said. (A long list of the incidents since July 25 is at the bottom of this article.)
In almost all cases, keys had been left inside the vehicle, police said, adding, “it is important to note” that stolen vehicles are often used in serious crimes in other cities and towns across the state. Obvious and Not-so-Obvious Tips for Protecting Your Property
Darien police recommend that drivers adopt these habits to foil car thieves:
Although you’ve probably heard these before …
A 2021 BMW X3 was stolen at about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 from the driveway of a home on Stephen Mather Road, the owner reported to Darien police. Surveillance video shows a suspect entering the passenger side of the vehicle and then speed off. The vehicle had been left parked in the driveway with the keys left inside.
When a woman called out to people she saw looking into car windows on Great Hill Road before dawn on Sunday morning, Jan. 28, they fled toward Tokeneke Road. The woman also said that she saw a white sedan parked in front of a neighbor’s house. Police went to the scene at 5:47 p.m., well before dawn. They canvassed the neighborhood and found that one unlocked vehicle had been rummaged through.
Two individuals walked into an open garage at a home on Arrowhead Way on Friday, Jan. 26, then entered an unlocked vehicle and stole a purse left in it, the victim told police. Police said:
Officers went to the house on the private road at 2:11 p.m. that day and spoke with the victim, who told them she saw the two individuals enter the garage and take the purse (the police announcement didn’t describe the pair in any way, including whether either one was male or female, adult or child). The suspects ran toward the road after the victim yelled at them.
On different nights last week, one or more people were opening doors of unlocked cars — and in one case, a car was stolen, police said. On Sunnyside Avenue
On Sunnyside Avenue, a 2021 Honda was stolen sometime overnight from Saturday to Sunday, Jan. 13 to 14. The owner told police the car had been left unlocked with the keys inside. That same night at a home across the street, an unlocked vehicle was entered, but nothing was missing, the owner told police.