Date/Time of Incident: 02/07/2009 1240 02/07/2009 1350
(At/From) to 4635 PINEVILLE-MATTHEWS ROAD CHARLOTTE, NC 02/07/2009 1358 Public Park/Playground -- Open Area
Reported by: Jim Rogerson
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Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a beautiful and relaxing weekend. I wanted to keep everyone posted as this apparently is a very common crime in the Charlotte areas:
On Saturday Chris and I took Cooper to Davie Dog Park on Pineville Matthews Road. We left the car for about 1 hr and, as always, I put my purse in the trunk to keep safe while we were in the muddy park. Upon return, we realized my purse had been taken from the trunk. The car had been locked (we are always very careful). The cop who worked with us said this is a fairly common crime. These thiefs will park and watch in public parking lots for individuals to leave their cars. They will keep a close eye on where you put things, etc. Once you are gone, they will use a master key to get into your car without "breaking" in. The officer who works security in our office mentioned:
"I just spoke with another officer and he said that some of the thugs do have master keys. They cannot use them to start the cars becasue the fake master keys do not have the computer chips in them but they can use them to get into the cars."
The officer I spoke with on Saturday specifically mentioned that these individuals will increasingly target parking lots in Parks, Churches, and public venues.
I was shocked to realize how common this was and felt it was best to let all of my friends know to stay safe and stay alert. This is a huge pain in the ass but a good lesson learned.
