Thief stealing from cars at Aurora gas stations

Aurora police are reminding drivers to lock up their possessions, even during a quick stop at the gas station.

Thieves took a total of more than $700 from three motorists during incidents June 7 and 14 at gas stations in the city, police said Friday.

In each of the incidents, a man described as about 30 years old with sandy blond hair and scruffy facial hair has approached vehicles from the passenger's side and removed valuables and purses while the owner pumped gas.

"Even when pumping gas, motorists should never leave valuables such as purses and wallets unsecured in vehicles," police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. "These incidents demonstrate how quickly a thief can steal items from an unlocked vehicle even with the driver in close proximity."

In two of the incidents, young children were reported to be in the vehicles.

After stealing items from the vehicles, the man has been seen either driving or as a passenger in a dark-colored four-door car, possibly a Chrysler, with no license plates.

Ferrelli said police do have leads and believe they are searching for two individuals, one matching the above description.

In two of the three cases, either the victim or witnesses have pursued the offender before losing the car in traffic at a high speed. On June 7, a witness followed the car until police arrived.

A police pursuit ensued but was terminated for safety reasons in the area of Eola and Sheffer roads after the suspect vehicle began weaving in and out of heavy traffic.

Although the suspect does not appear to be armed, there is no way to tell for sure. Police warn it is usually not a good idea to follow someone who has committed a crime.

"Frequently, these types of thefts are committed by persons who may be supporting drug habits and are obviously not thinking rationally," Ferrelli said. "Thus, personally confronting them may cause them to turn violent or if they are chased in a vehicle, they may exhibit reckless behavior and cause serious injury to innocent parties on the road."

Police encourage those who are victimized in these types of crimes, or those who witness them, to immediately call 911 and provide any information they can such as descriptions of persons and vehicles.

Anyone with information should call investigators at (630) 801-6655 or Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.

Police say the thefts occurred at 6:35 p.m. June 7 at the Thornton station at 2800 Ogden Ave.; 12:44 p.m. June 14 at the Shell station at 65 S. Route 59; and 2:15 p.m. June 14 at the BP Amoco station at 1207 N. Eola Road.