Thief Trades Cars Inside UP Garage
It sounds like the set-up for a hidden-camera sketch. A homeowner wakes up one Sunday morning to realize that their vehicle was stolen from their detached garage — and another vehicle was left in its place.
Unfortunately for a resident in the 2600 block of Milton Avenue, there wasn’t any punchline to this scenario on Sept. 15, when a silver 2011 Jeep Wrangler was missing. In its place was a Volvo station wagon that had been stolen earlier from a driveway in the 3900 block of Potomac Avenue in Highland Park.
Stolen items from inside the Jeep included a $1,600 set of Taylor Made golf clubs, a $400 pair of Maui Jim sunglasses, and a $200 Husky compressor.
The original crime on Potomac happened overnight, when a thief stole the key to the Volvo along with a case of Winchester shotgun shells from a unlocked black Mercedes SUV parked next to it. The perpetrator also rummaged through an unlocked blue Ford Explorer.
During that same night:
- A thief stole a canvas bag containing a portable DVD player and various children’s DVDs from an unlocked black 2002 Lexus SUV in the 3600 block of Potomac. A homeowner two blocks away found the bag discarded on her property later that morning.
- A burglar broke into a black 2007 BMW X3 in the 3200 block of Milton and stole $1,800 worth of shoes and boots, a $745 pair of Tom Ford sunglasses, a $600 stroller, a $500 car seat, a $400 BCBG jacket, $40 worth of cosmetics, $20 worth of auto accessories, and a $15 Target tote bag.
- A thief stole $300 worth of tools and a $200 iPod Nano from an unlocked black 2009 GMC Yukon in the 3000 block of Milton.
- A vandal rummaged through a white Volkswagen Jetta in the 3800 block of Potomac. There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing was reported stolen.
