It took just a minute.
On Green Hill Terrace, a woman left her car idling, ran inside to grab paperwork — and returned to find the car gone.
At Pizza Heaven, an employee left her car idling, went back inside to grab an order — and returned to find her car gone.
Same thing happened to an Alden Avenue resident, and to a driver who left a car idling in a Blake Street lot.
That’s how long it took for the latest car thefts to occur this past week on the west side of town.
“It takes seconds to steal a car,” notes top West Hills/ Westville/ West Rock/ Amity/ Beverly Hills cop Lt. Rose Dell. “Please take precautions and not become a victim of this type of crime.”
Dell details those crimes and other incidents in her latest weekly summary of notable police calls.
Her summary follows:
FROM 4/6/19 to 4/13/19 POLICE RESPONDED TO 150 CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE WESTVILLE/WEST HILLS SECTION OF NEW HAVEN. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF NOTABLE INCIDENTS:
On 4/8, police responded to a residence on Green Hill Terrace for the report of a stolen car. A resident reported that she started her gray Chevy Impala and then went back inside her home to get some paperwork. When she came back outside, her vehicle was gone. Her neighbor was outside smoking a cigarette and witnessed the theft. He saw a silver Acura TL occupied by two black males pull up in front of his neighbor’s house. The passenger exited the Acura, and entered the driver’s seat of the Chevy Impala. Both vehicles took off and traveled on Green Hill Terrace and then turned right onto Frederick Street.
Tuesday evening police responded to Pizza Heaven restaurant on Blake Street for the report of an attempted car theft. An employee left her car idling while she stood at the side entrance of the business waiting to pick up her next delivery order. She saw an unknown subject jump into the driver’s seat of her vehicle. As the vehicle began to execute a K‑turn in the parking lot, she jumped into the back seat. She pummeled the subject numerous times in the head and was able to pull the emergency brake, all while she was in the back seat. The subject threatened to harm her but then panicked, jumped out of the car and fled on foot. The subject was described as a black male, with a medium build, approximately 5’10”, and wore an all grey sweat suit with black and white Nike sneakers.
On 4/9, police responded to the McDonald’s on Whalley Avenue on a reported assault. An inebriated customer approached a young female employee and asked to take her out after work. The customer became more brazen and began to walk closer to the female employee. A male employee interceded and was later attacked and scratched across his face by the male customer. The subject was described as a white male, approximately 40 – 50 years of age, 6’ tall with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a brown “Kangol” style hat, black jacket, dark colored pants, a Burberry style scarf and black dress shoes.
On 4/9, police responded to an apartment complex on Fountain Street to investigate a burglary. The resident reported that she went to retrieve an item from her storage unit and found the lock broken and her belongings tossed about the room. Two antique finished floor lamps were stolen which were worth around $200 a piece. The last time she had been to the storage unit was around a month ago. The Officer noticed that other units also had broken locks and appeared to have been rummaged through.
Thursday evening a vehicle was stolen from a driveway on Alden Avenue. The owner left the vehicle running while she unloaded her groceries into her home. Her purse was also in the vehicle. Another vehicle was stolen from a parking lot on Blake Street early Friday morning. The owner left the vehicle running in the parking lot. The vehicle did not have keys in the ignition but had been started with a key fob. PRO TIP: Remember to never leave your car unattended, unlocked and running.
Police received numerous calls for reports of gunfire at the Brookside Estates housing complex throughout the week. On 4/12, at around 5 pm, police responded to reports of gunfire near Wadley Street and located a live round and a shell casing in the roadway of Catherine Way. Two patios were struck by the gunfire on Wadley Street.
On 4/12, police responded to a residence on Wilmot Road to investigate a fraud complaint. The resident received a phone call from a male that identified himself as a representative of Apple. He told her she had three unknown individuals listed on her account that could pose a security threat. He instructed her to go to the store and purchase google play cards and provide him with the security codes so that he could remove the threat and place the money into her accounts. The resident went to numerous stores and purchased a total of $2,000 worth of cards. PRO TIP: Don’t become a victim of a scam. Never purchase anything for someone you don’t know.
On 4/13, police responded to the late report of a package theft on Willard Street. The resident reported that he didn’t know the package was stolen until he received an email from the company asking if he was satisfied with his purchase. He then checked his Ring doorbell camera and saw that his Puma sneakers (valued at $25) were stolen by an unknown subject on 4/9. The male appears to be an older white or Hispanic male dressed in dark clothing. PRO TIP: Add delivery instructions to have packages delivered to a location other than your front porch. Consider the purchase of a parcel lockbox.