WAYNESBORO A purse, a wallet, maybe a laptop or smart phone: throughout the course of their day, most people have one or more of these and other valuables with them. In the past, most people living in relatively small, tight-knit communities such as Waynesboro and Staunton wouldn’t think twice about leaving them in their car as they hop out for a meeting, lunch or a workout at the gym. Increasingly, though, local vehicle break-ins are testing that touchstone of small-town life, and forcing people to think twice about how and where they leave valuables. On Sept.
1, an Augusta County woman came out of the Waynesboro YMCA, where she was volunteering, to find her car’s passenger-side window smashed and her laptop and purse missing. She had parked the vehicle in the Y’s parking lot and locked it, but the valuables were apparently visible.
A similar smash-and-grab occurred at the Staunton YMCA that same day, raising the possibility that those involved are specifically targeting businesses like gyms, where it’s likely the owners of vehicles parked there will be inside the facility for at least 45 minutes. Jeff Fife, executive director of the Waynesboro Y, said he wouldn t be surprised if the perpetrators hit other locations. He believes it’s an organized ring of thieves due to the clockwork-like precision with which the crime occurred.
You can see quite clearly a very structured, organized theft, Fife said of the Y’s security footage, which captured the crime.
You see the first car come through and do a loop at 6:30 p.m. to check everything out,” he explained. “They reappear, park and another car enters. Somebody gets out of that vehicle.
The car parks, they smash, they grab, and they go. Waynesboro and Staunton police are investigating both incidents. No arrests have been made in the Waynesboro case yet, and it’s not clear if the Staunton investigation has yielded any suspects. Following the theft, Fife put out a call for help on Facebook. He asked people to be on the lookout for two white sedans with tinted windows that were captured on the surveillance footage.
Fife said it s upsetting for him that a Y member can be inside, volunteering with children and outside, their possessions are being stolen.
It gets you a little angry that people would do that, no matter where they choose to steal, he said. Spates of similar crimes have occurred throughout the region in recent months, though it’s not clear if they’re occurring at a greater rate than last year. Regardless, Fife and local police advise motorists not to leave valuable belongings in their car, if possible.
We have lockers, Fife said.
You can safely bring items in and lock things up. If you are going to leave items in your car, do the best you can to hide them. Sgt. Brian Edwards of the Waynesboro Police Department agreed.
The WPD urges motorists to remove valuables from vehicles and lock doors, he said. If taking valuables out of the vehicle is not feasible, then securing them in a locked trunk is a better alternative than trying to hide them under a seat or blanket.
Crimes of opportunity are difficult to solve, Edwards said. When a car window is smashed, it makes little noise, he said, and many people don t realize until the owner detects the damage. Fife hoped to use the power of social media to bring awareness to the issue. He said it s important to get the message out.
It s important the community is aware and on the lookout for those two white cars he said. I would love to bring them to justice.
