John Corona, Lindenwood resident, woke to find his Mercedes up on bricks after parking around the block from
his home. He joins the list of frustrated vehicle owners left with wheels, late model cars, and a bill of over $10,000 in
replacement costs. Patricia Adams/The Forum Newsgroup
Rim thieves struck again in Lindenwood late last week, this time targeting a late model Mercedes Benz for the first time. “This pattern mostly exists for Honda, Nissans and Toyotas,” explained Deputy Inspector Thomas Pascale, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct. But being the owner of the first Mercedes to have its rims removed was not a distinction vehicle owner John Corona was pleased to have.
“I parked here because I heard another car got hit last night and I thought this was a good spot. It’s right off the corner and in front of the doors of the building,” Corona told his neighbors who gathered around the shiny black body suspended on bricks. “And look what happened.”
Residents continued to stop as they passed by and stare in amazement at the handiwork of the obviously brazen criminals. “We should all have bicycles,” a man yelled from the open window of his SUV. “It’s an absolute disgrace. We need more cops.”
Corona found his car atop stacked bricks around 10 a.m. on Friday morning outside 155-49 81st Street, lug nuts neatly stacked under where his wheels once hung.
“We had a few instances in the precinct where Infinity models were being hit, but never this vehicle,” Community Affairs Officer Ken Zorn told The Forum.
But despite the latest addition to the log of vehicles stripped of their worthy rims in the area, the numbers show the 106th Precinct to actually be down in grand larceny by 22 percent for the year.
“It amounts to the fact that we have had 8 less incidents this year than last so far,” said Pascale. “But for the person who is directly impacted, those stats are not much of a consolation,” the commanding officer said. “When it’s your car that gets hit, you feel it.”
Pascale makes it a point to actually oversee the investigation of the vehicle vandalism cases personally. His hands-on approach to the incidents puts him on the street with each new occurrence.
“We are trying the best we can to stop this from happening,” Pascale said. “But the fact remains that there is a large supply of vehicles that these people are interested in and they keep coming back.”
As for prevention, the inspector said the incidents are due in part to the fact that there is a shortage of manpower in his command.
“I can’t have a cop on every block,” Pascale said, the tone of resignation in his statement clearly indicating the frustration felt by department supervisors throughout the city.
“We depend on the residents in the community to let us know if they see anything suspicious,” he said. “I can’t really emphasize enough, the value of the contributions made by citizens who report these activities to us.”
And larceny is not the only concern in the precinct. There is the constant anticipation of other emerging patterns that continue to taunt residents and disturb the functioning of one neighborhood after another.
Deception burglaries are on the mind of every command.
“We know they are going to happen,” said Zorn. “It’s just a matter of when and where and which scheme they are going to perpetrate.”
Schemes and scams devised by creative bad guys are tearing through the city, with a myriad of scenarios portrayed to gain entrance to private homes and steal valuables once inside.
Impersonating utility workers, using children who supposedly need to go to the bathroom – the list goes on and on, the schemes growing more elaborate by the day.
“These criminals are aided by the internet and the facility of technology to reproduce identification and credentials that are almost indistinguishable to the public,” said Zorn.
Police remain frustrated over the brazen acts of individuals who act in teams to deceive residents and prey upon their kind natures.
“We live in a world where people use children as a part of their plan to access a home and rob it,” Pascale said. “That’s the worst part of these crimes – they play upon human nature and people’s genuine concern for others – especially kids.”
Police continue to ask that anyone who observes suspicious behavior should call 911 immediately. And above all, they remind everyone to be extremely guarded when opening the door at home.
“Make sure the person on the other side is who they say they are,” the inspector cautioned. “If you’re unsure at all, don’t let them in.”
By Patricia Adams
