Crime Report: Multiple Car Break-Ins, One Theft Reported

One car was reported as stolen, one tampered with, and five others broken into in the past week in Dearborn, according to reports.

Car Left Running, Stolen

A Dearborn resident reported his car as stolen at 1:25 a.m. Jan. 8.

According to the owner, he parked his Pontiac G6 at the Mobil Gas Station at Warren Avenue and Schaefer and ran inside the station to buy gum. The car was left running, unlocked and with the keys in the ignition.

When the owner came out of the store, he saw a man sitting in the driver's seat, according to the police report. Before he could reach the car, the man drove away and went north on Schaefer Road.

The thief is described as a black man around the age of 20-25, heavy set and with curly hair, and wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt.

Car Tampered With at Wal-Mart

A Dearborn resident was inside of the Wal-Mart just off of Ford Road when his 2004 Dodge Caravan was reportedly tampered with, but not stolen.

According to the owner of the van, he was in the store from around 6:05-6:45 p.m. and left his vehicle parked and locked in aisle four of the parking lot, in front of the Home and Pharmacy entrance. When he returned to the van, he found that the door handle had been pried open and the ignition punched.

Police were not able to obtain surveillance video footage of the parking lot.

Parts, Good Stolen From Cars

A resident of the 7000 block of Jonathon parked his 1998 Honda SUV in front of his house at 10 p.m. Jan. 6, according to police reports. The following morning at 9:40 a.m., he cound that someone had broken the rear driver's side window and stolen his GPS unit from the console.

During the same time period, a car stereo was reportedly stolen from a Mitsubishi Eclipse parked in front of a home on the 6400 block of Appoline. In that case, the passenger window had been broken to gain entry.

On Jan. 8, a security guard at reported to work at 11:40 p.m. and found one of the dealership's 2012 Cadillacs up on landscaping blocks. All four tires and rims had allegedly been stolen. The rear driver's side window had also been broken, but nothing had been stolen.

Another car-related theft at a Dearborn business was reported on Jan. 9 at Rite Track Auto. According to the employee who filed the report, an F250 owned by the business had its tailgate removed. Surveillance video from the parking lot showed three men entering the lot on foot at 9:30 a.m. and removing the tailgate.

Lastly, a resident of the 2700 block of Liberty reported a theft from her Pontiac Montana on Jan. 9. She had parked the van in front of her apartment at 9 p.m. the previous night, and when she started it the next day, it was extremely loud. A police investigation of the vehicle revealed that the catalytic converter had been removed.

For questions on the police blotter, email jessica.carreras@patch.com.