Two cars, two blocks, the same make and model....
A resident of an apartment in the 7700 block of North Avenue reported Saturday morning that his 2000 Chrysler Cirrus sedan had been stolen from the rear parking lot of his building.
At 9:04 a.m. Sunday, police recovered a stolen Cirrus sedan in the rear parking lot of an apartment building just two blocks west of there, in the 7900 block of West North Avenue – but it was not the same car.
A woman who lives in the second building called the car in as suspicious because it was parked in another resident’s assigned spot and because she had heard that a car of the same make and model had been stolen nearby the night before.
It was not known just how long the recovered Cirrus had been parked there, and it's possible that it was left by the same thieves who stole the other.
The mystery of the swapped Cirruses may not be too deep, and not just an odd coincidence. Police say that car thieves often specialize in particular models and model years because they are easier to hot-wire than others, and the thieves come to know how to make off with them very quickly.
Chrysler and Dodge models of the late-1990s to early 2000s era are, apparently, particularly vulnerable.
Easy pickings lures thieves back to same block
Over two nights, four residents of the same block lost property when their unlocked cars were entered and rifled.
Two residents of the 2500 block of North 72nd Street discovered Friday that their unlocked cars had been entered overnight.
One noticed and reported the loss of three pairs of sunglasses and a cord for a Bluetooth. In the other case, a caller in the block reported finding a wallet, which contained various cards including a credit card, belonging to a neighbor who had not yet noticed the theft. The owner did not say whether anything was taken from the wallet or if anything else was missing from the car.
Then on Saturday morning, two more residents of the same block reported that their unlocked cars had been entered in their driveways overnight. One lost sunglasses, an iPod connector cord and a first-aid kit; the other a jacket and a GPS unit.
In other recent incidents:
Sunday
A Baltimore woman reported that between 9 p.m. Friday and 2:35 p.m. Sunday a window was smashed out of her minivan and her iPod stolen while it was parked at Extended Stay America, 11121 W. North Ave.
At 11:20 a.m., a 16-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for theft at Target, 3900 N. 124th St., after she was seen stuffing clothing and accessories into two large bags and then trying to leave without paying. Most of the $300 worth of merchandise was infant clothing, which the girl told police was for her 4-month-old daughter. She said she had the money at home to pay but didn’t want to spend it.
A resident of the 1800 block of North 71st Street reported that overnight someone had entered his unlocked car in his driveway and stolen a GPS unit.
Two guests at the Radisson Hotel, 2303 N. Mayfair Rd., had their vehicles broken into overnight. One lost a GPS unit, a laptop computer, a radar detector and a digital camera, the other a GPS unit, a laptop and case, an iPod and a portable DVD player. In each case windows were smashed to gain entry.
Saturday
At 4:40 p.m., an employee of Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant at Mayfair Mall called police to recover a plastic bag containing a green, leafy substance found in the restroom, believing it might be marijuana. It proved not to be, and police said it might have been synthetic marijuana or possibly tea.
Friday
At 3:12 p.m., a 40-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for theft at Dry Goods in Mayfair Mall after she was seen hiding a pair of jeans in a bag. An employee approached her and asked if she needed help with the jeans, giving her an opportunity to return them without being detained. Instead, the woman said she had brought them in to return them. The staff then processed the return and called police. The woman told officers she had brought other purchases back for return and had merely done “something stupid” because she was “not thinking.” She was found to have prior convictions for theft, retail theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, disorderly conduct and armed robbery.
