Thousand Oaks Police Department City Watch Update, September 16, 2010

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

Crime Fighters,

It is great to be back from my vacation and during the past three weeks many events have taken place. Thefts from vehicles and vehicle burglaries are still our number one concern, however, several other thefts have taken place that you should be aware of. 

Someone is going through our fine city taking the tailgates from Chevrolet pick-up trucks. Last year this type of theft also occurred and the thieves, as in this case, apparently after illegally obtaining the number of tailgates they wanted, stopped with the thefts. Nevertheless, please be watchful as these thefts may start again.

The manner of thefts and the items being taken are atypical. For instance, a used child’s car seat that was temporary left in a driveway was seen being carried away by two thieves as they serenely sauntered south on the suburban sidewalk.  A family went on vacation and returned only to discover that someone pilfered their pricey pool filter. Evidently, it is no longer wise to keep attached items to a vehicle. A victim discovered one morning that sometime overnight a crook helped himself to beautiful bicycle rack that was fastened to the vehicle. Another thief took an unsecured bicycle but left behind the once attached child trailer.

Even when a vehicle is nearby, there is no guarantee that a theft will not happen. A harmless looking young man answered an advertisement made through an Internet site for a motorized scooter. The young man, soon-to-be a young villain, asked for and obtained permission to take the scooter for a ride. The suspect promptly jumped on the scooter and he and the scooter have not been seen since his inaugural ride. Another person wanted to sell his leased Porsche so he advertised the sale of the slick, speedy sports car. The buyer showed-up and they both took the vehicle for a test drive. When they returned, the victim went inside his residence and left the alluring, attractive auto alone with the newly arrived buyer. When the victim went back outside, the buyer and the vehicle were gone.

Television sets have become bigger and better and high definition capability makes them appealing to crooks. One victim temporarily stored a large, new television set in a garage. It was stored briefly because it was stolen from the garage while the set was still in its packaging. Fortunately, when the victim stored the television set in the garage, he was aware of who was around and what vehicles were in the area. The victim gave some excellent leads that directed the responding deputy to the suspect. During the suspect’s persistent denials about not having any knowledge concerning a stolen television, the television, still in its box, miraculously appeared outside the suspect’s front door.  The victim is now enjoying his hard-earned television while the suspect enjoyed his hard-earned, smaller television inside his jail-housing unit.

Unfortunately, graffiti seems to be making a come back as there has been an increase in graffiti vandalism. Remember, we have an outstanding graffiti removal system in the city. To report and to rid the city of graffiti, please report the vandalism to the police department (805.654.9511) so we can document it and to the graffiti hotline (805.449.2488).

The “knock and walks” are still happening where the would-be thief knocks on the door and upon getting no response the thief walks to the backyard to make entry into the residence. Please report uninvited, unsolicited, and unknown visitors so we can undermine their unscrupulous plans.

Finally, the Thousand Oaks Police Charitable Foundation, that helps funds and supports the youth and volunteer programs of the Thousand Oaks Police Department, will be having their annual golf tournament on Monday, October 25, 2010 at the North Ranch Country Club. This event is instrumental in raising the financial support that is needed in providing the many public services and events throughout the year.

Once again, there will be a golf drop from a helicopter. The grand prize is a trip to Hawaii and other prizes include a $500 shopping spree at The Oaks Shopping Center and gift cards to local restaurants. Please review the attachment for further information. I hope to see you there.

Take care,

Jim (DeSoto)