A Freedom of Information request by Patch has revealed that there have been 17 reports of vehicles being vandalized or burglarized or both since October in the parking lot of Waterford’s Wow Work Out World at 6 Fargo Road.
Waterford Police Lt. Jeff Nixon said most of the break-ins followed a similar pattern: a car window was smashed open and then the suspect or suspects burglarized the inside of the car. Nixon said mostly cars with valuable items in plain view – like a purse on the seat or a GPS device attached to the windshield – were burglarized and encouraged residents to hide their valuables in their car.
“Just get it out of plain view,” Nixon said. “Make it less of an invitation for someone.”
Nixon said the Waterford Police Department is actively investigating the incidents although said no specific suspects have been identified. He said he cannot say for sure that one person or one group is responsible for all of the incidents but almost all of the incidents follow the same pattern.
Nixon encouraged residents to call the Waterford Police Department at (860) 447-1456 if they see a suspicious or out-of-place person in the WOW parking lot.
List of Incidents at the Parking Lot of 6 Fargo Road
- Oct. 15: Police took a report of the passenger-side window of a 2011 Dodge Charger being broken at 9:18 p.m.
- Oct. 23: Police took a report of a purse missing from a 2010 Toyota Prius at 7:48 p.m.
- Nov. 3: Police took a report of hubcaps missing from a 2007 Cadillac Escalade at 9:50 a.m.
- Nov. 9: A “smash-and-grab” of a 2006 Saturn was reported at 5:38 p.m.
- Nov. 19: Police took a report of a 2012 Honda Civic being broken into at 11:15 a.m.
- Nov. 23: Police took a report of the passenger-side window of a 2000 Buick Century being broken at 7:09 p.m. although nothing appeared missing inside the vehicle and $400 in cash in an envelope sitting on the front seat was left untouched. Police later found a 2000 Buick Regal broken into at 7:33 p.m. and a black bag containing the car owner’s paycheck and credit cards was missing.
- Dec. 10: Police found two cars that had broken windows at 5:32 p.m. One, a 2008 Toyota Camry, had the back driver-side window smashed out although nothing appeared missing. The second car had the passenger-side window broken out and a purse holding a driver’s license and credit cards was missing.
- Dec. 17: Police took a report of a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe being broken into and items missing at 7:52 p.m.
- Dec. 23: Police took a report of a 2006 Acura being broken into and an iPhone and GPS device missing at 10:21 a.m.
- Dec. 26: Police took a report of a car window being broken and a GPS missing at 5:27 p.m.
- Jan. 5: Police took a report of a window of a 2005 Hyundai Elantra being broken and a Nintendo DS missing at 5:10 p.m.
- Jan. 7: Police took a report of the window of a 2002 Hyundai Elantra being broken and a duffle bag with a wallet in it missing at 7:24 p.m.
- Jan. 11: Police took a report of a window of a 2011 Honda Civic being broken and a purse missing at 7:10 p.m.
- Jan. 14: Police took a report of the back-side window of a 2010 Audi being broken and a purse with credit cards inside, a checkbook and a computer were missing at 6:08 p.m.
- Jan. 15: Police took a report of a car being broken into at 6:09 p.m.
