Car break-ins concern Midtown residents

By MASHAUN D. SIMON


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A number of Midtown automobile break-ins are causing some concerns for area residents.

Saturday, Atlanta Police reported 30 to 90 cars were vandalized at a condo complex at 905 Juniper.

Thieves stole iPods, GPS units and electronic devices from the cars.

The same took place earlier this week at Ansley Terrace condos on 15th Street, said Ansley Terrace resident Susan Keen.

However, not as many cars were broken into.

“Anywhere between 12 to 15 cars were ransacked in our gated backlot on Monday,” Keen said. “Our cameras show a tall, skinny male, with a hat, carrying a big bag around 3 a.m. He cased the parking lot briefly, disappeared and then reappeared shortly after.”

Ansley Terrace, a four-story, brick bulding, sits in the shadow of Colony Square.

Keen said the video is grainy, but the subject can be seen cutting out the back windows of convertibles, climbing in and a few minutes later climbing back out.

Not one car alarm was set off. Cutting out the back windows is how he got around setting off the alarms, Keen believes.

A few times he can be seen getting between cars, breaking out windows and going through the cars.

The amount of damaged he caused to the cars is in the thousands, said Keen.

“The dash was torn up so bad in one guy’s Acura TL, it is going to cost thousands of dollars to fix his car alone,” Keen said. “And he still never got into the locked glove box.”

Keen, whose father was an insurance agent in Florida, believes car owners should not leave valuables in their car or even lock the glove compartment or car doors.

“All the thiefs are going to do is tear the car apart to get into it,” she said. “Leaving thousands of dollars in repairs.”

While APD spokesman, James Polite, says the break-in at 905 Juniper is not unusual, Keen disagrees.

“I have lived at this condo 10 years and we have never had this mass of vandalizations,” she said, “Much less to see two complexes hit in less than one week like this.”

There are currently no suspects or descriptions in the 905 Juniper incident, but police are investigating.

Polite advises car owners not to leave electronic equipment in plain view.

-- Check ajc.com for updates.