Thieves targeting car GPS devices
Mount Prospect police are urging residents to put GPS devices out of sight as a rash of car burglaries targeting these gadgets has occurred in the village.
Thieves are primarily targeting vehicles with portable navigation systems. Those device that have been have been visible on the dashboard or mounted on the windshield, police said.
"They just smash a window to gain entry," said officer Dirk Ollech. "They can see the item right there and maybe if the item was out of view, they wouldn't take a chance."
Police began seeing a "greater than average" number of burglaries to motor vehicles in December, Ollech said.
During one weekend this month, police counted five GPS devices stolen, a number which Ollech called "disheartening."
The thieves' pattern has been the same, he said. They smash a window in order to gain entry to the vehicle or enter vehicles which were left unlocked. The devices were always in plain view, he said.
Primarily, GPS devices have been targeted, but other electrical gadgets have been taken as well, he said.
Ollech did not know how many GPS burglaries the village has had for the past two months, but noted it was enough for police to publicly remind residents to put all their valuables away.
This latest crime wave has happened during both day and night hours, throughout the village, he said.
Police have recently arrested three people for burglarizing cars, but it's unclear whether these particular arrests were associated with the GPS heists of late.
Erick Tapia, 18, at 1715 Chariot Court in Mount Prospect was charged with theft and driving without a valid driver's license after police found a stolen BlackBerry cellular phone and an Apple iPod in this car during a routine traffic stop on Feb. 2. The items had been stolen from a car parked in a nearby apartment building, police said.
Two other Mount Prospect teens, both 15, were in the car as well, police said. Both were charged with burglary to a motor vehicle, theft and criminal damage to property in juvenile court.
Tapia will appear in the Rolling Meadows court facility on Feb. 27, police said.