This is not the Merry Christmas message you want to see today — the Grinch struck our neighborhood this Christmas morning.
This North Natomas auto burglary was captured on surveillance cameras. It took place at about 4:30 AM on this morning on Cafaro Circle in the Witter Ranch / Gateway West community.
The images shows a man walking west on the west north sidewalk of the 100 block of street, walking between the vehicles in driveway, peering into a car parked on the street, then walks west out of camera view. Two minutes later, he arrives in a car and smashes the rear driver side window of the parked car.
Taken are two bags, one of which is a laptop bag — however, I’m sure the thief will be disappointed to discover there is no laptop in the bag, only paperwork that is of no value.
The vehicle appears to be a light-colored midsize sedan.
Here are some tips to prevent being a victim:
- Do not ignore car alarms sounding at night -- often they are a nuisance but sometimes they are for real.
- Do not leave anything visible in your car, even if not of any value. Thieves will steal anything they think might be valuable. This morning's incident is proof of that.
- Watch for suspicious activity and call Sacramento Police Department's non-emergency dispatch line at 916-264-5471 if you do notice anything suspicious.
- Thieves hate light, so turn yours on! We have far too many darkened houses in our neighborhood. "Lighten up, folks."
If you were a victim of a car break-in overnight, please file a police report online and then let us know where it happened.
Merry Christmas in spite of the existence of Grinches.
