Police Warn Of "Car Hopping" Trend
SOUTH MIAMI (CBS4) - They check the door to your car and if it's open the thief just gets in.
Police call it car hopping.
Burglars go from car to car as quickly as possible looking for money, sunglasses, iPads and whatever they can grab quickly then it's on to the next.
South Miami resident Cristy Gonzalez-Brito said thieves car hopped her vehicle and took three pairs of glasses and some change as well as photos. The total amount of items stolen was about three hundred dollars.
"Definitely invaded. Someone's been through my stuff and you start to wonder, what else did they see?" said Gonzalez-Brito.
Right around the corner from Gonzalez-Brito, a house near 58th Street and 77th Terrace was also hit. The owner there didn't want to speak with CBS4 but did hand over surveillance video of a thief breaking into not one but two of the cars in his driveway. The person looked young and moved fast.
Major Rene Landa with South Miami Police says these car-hopping crimes have skyrocketed in the past two years and it's worse than ever.
"Number one; don't leave anything of value in the car. Lock your doors and don't leave anything in plain view," He said.
In nearby Coral Gables on Granada, another rash of car break-ins was reported.
Two cars were hit at Jackie Indacochea's home.
"We always close the gates and lock the doors but we didn't that night. He thought I closed the gate and I thought that he closed the gate and our cars were unlocked and that never happens," said Indacocea.
That night it did happen. All of the crimes happened around three weeks ago but the surveillance was just released by South Miami Police.
The crime in Coral Gables was solved but the thief or thieves from South Miami are still on the loose.
Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
