The Backseat Burglars Strike Again in Park Cities
It seems to be a rite of passage here at People Newspapers when it comes to reporting the odd theft of SUV third row seats.
Previously, staff writers Bradford Pearson and Claire St. Amant commented on the peculiar burglary in stories and blog posts last year. After a little chat with them, I found out this is no mere phenomenom that take place randomly, and is what seems to be a real target, if not the main goal, for SUV burglars.
Before I found out that there is an actual market for these seats — partially because they’re being stolen in the first place — my thoughts were that when one breaks into an SUV and finds nothing, do they think, “Hey, why not the third row seat?”
This idea only perpetuated my assumption that those who steal have no furniture, nor the desire to antique, making the luxury of a leather bench too hard to pass up.
But in my few weeks here I have seen a shocking amount of these cases in the Park Cities area. The seat thefts are usually on large Suburbans — Chevy Tahoes, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades have been recent victims — coupled with the theft of rims and tires, pressure sensors and hub caps.
In the last two weeks, three SUV’s had their wheels taken, four had just their third row seat taken, and two had both seats and wheels removed from their cars. In one of the cases, two SUV’s were burglarized in the same block — one had the left two wheels taken, the other the right two.
All these thefts have been occurring overnight, and, according to reports, some enter the vehicle by popping open the back window or easily enough, through unlocked cars.
If you, or anyone you know, has been a victim of these kinds of crimes, please email me at andrew.plock@peoplenewspapers.com.
We had this happen to my wife s Yukon 3 years ago. The HP police caught the fat SOB, but they didn’t recover about 50 CDs and oddly enough, the owner’s manual. Plus, we had to pay to get the damage repaired and detail his blood from the glass that cut him that got all over the interior.
I recently learned that it is legal to shoot at thieves breaking into vehicles at night whether the vehicle is parked in your driveway or on the street. I know some people would disagree that it’s too harsh to shoot a burglar, but really, there is no deterrent to these guys.
I put McGard wheel locks plus tilt sensors on our vehicles to make it more difficult. Also, if you see Hispanics cruising slowly on streets late at night, call the cops ASAP. Call it profiling, but they are the ones committing these crimes.
When you say “Hispanics” do you mean Brazilians, Argentinians, Peruvians, Ecuadorians, Chileans, Columbians, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, Bolivians, Guatamalans, or Mexicans? If I’m gonna profile I want to do it right….
Mexicans and Guatuamalans. But, please feel free to let me know the next time you see Ecudorians, Bolivians, etc. lurking around late at night in the PC.
Wow! I’ll also be on the lookout for pompous (insert expletive) white guys who dare not cross the Trinity for fear of never getting back alive.
GB- Don’t equivocate. Just tell folks to be on the look out for fat Mexican SOB’s cruising the streets in the Park Cities. Get it off your chest man! You’ll feel better…
It happens. I had my rear wheels and GPD unit stolen off my truck while in my driveway 3 years ago. Then about a year ago I had my third row seats stolen. Needless to say, if I catch you doing this, you’ll be shot no matter what you race or background. I’m an equal opportunity gun owner.
Don’t the cars alarms go off when they break into the car?
Most of the vehicles that are targeted are ones where the models have a third row seat is easily detachable — snap on or two bolts. While this is great for an owner who frequently needs more space, it only shortens the time it takes to remove them from the car.
Typically, no, as most factory alarms are triggered by the doors opening. In both of my cases, the windows were breached while the doors remained closed.
My brother had his 3rd row seats stolen teh other day and after call GM, he found out that you can’t buy these seat through GM. They are only supplied if ordered on a new car. Blame GM for created a market for theives.
Sorry for all the grammar and spelling errors. I didn’t proof read.
First off, get a lock for your third row seat. They have a sticker that you put on your back window (heck, just get the sticker).
Secondly, I still don’t get why the question to GM isn’t regarding their faulty alarm system design. Not much of an alarm if it doesn’t go off when you pop the back window. So basically only an alarm for burglars who are too lazy to crawl through the back?