Thousand Oaks City Watch Update - August 11, 2009

Here is the latest "City Watch" alert from Deputy Jim DeSoto of the Thousand Oaks Police Department. If you are interested in receiving these updates directly from him via email, click here for more information.

Crime Fighters,

Tie it down. Bolt it down. Glue it down. Nail it down. Clamp it down. But most importantly, keep an eye on it. During the past few weeks, officers have taken many theft reports in addition to the usual thefts from vehicles and vehicles burglary reports.

Items have been taken from shopping carts, poolside deck areas, residences, businesses, parking lots, garages, parks, coffee houses and the list continues. In these thefts, the item(s) was left unsecured or forgotten about. Stolen items range from laptops to purses and from a pool pump to pallets. Anything of value is worth the risk to the criminal opportunist. When the victim realized about the forgotten item, the item was already gone. In some instances the item was left alone for only a minute. Unfortunately, there are many eyes watching you and hoping to seize the opportunity when you put down property and either forget about it or become distracted from it.

In one instance, a female placed her cell phone down, forgot about it and returned to discover that Sticky Fingers the crook absconded with the iPod phone. The victim called her phone, Sticky Fingers answered and tried to blackmail the victim for her cell phone, or in his words, he wanted a reward. The victim got enough information on Sticky Fingers that his days on the lamb and fleecing should be ending soon.

Sadly, an important tidbit to remember is that when most thefts occur inside the residence while the victim is at home, the suspect is someone the victim knows through friendship, business or family relations. A contractor, a contractor’s employees, the children’s friends, guests at a house party, acquaintances of family members, etc. My purpose is not to disparage anyone but keep in mind that many victims never suspect or want to believe someone they know or just met is capable of stealing.

When I talk to the patrol officers and detectives about the crimes they investigate, I am typically told that often times through the follow-up investigation, witnesses to the crime are present but never call dispatch (805-654-9511) to report the suspicious activity or the crime itself. Help us put Sticky Fingers and other criminals behind bars by telling the officers what you saw or heard.

A great thanks goes out to Senior Deputy Kelley. He was on patrol in the early morning hours in Oak Park. He received a call of a theft from a vehicle, responded, observed the crooks leaving the area, and took the criminals into custody. Stolen property from multiple thefts from vehicles was recovered. In addition, he recovered a loaded, stolen handgun from the lap of one of the crooks. A chilling moment for any officer and professional at its best as no one was hurt or injured during the arrests. His actions are recognition well deserved.

Finally, in Camarillo, a person was arrested in the early morning hours for thieving from vehicles. This person and Sr. Dep. Kelley’s arrestee and others who have been captured by other deputies have at least one notion in common: in interviews, they all remarked how easy it is to steal because so many people keep their vehicle doors unlocked in the driveway of their homes. Spread the word. Lock those doors.

Take care,

Jim (DeSoto)