A Jacksonville park is the latest place that has been hit by thieves breaking into vehicles.
A woman told Action News Jax that her window was smashed and within 30 minutes, thousands of dollars were charged to her stolen credit card.
Signs are stuck in the ground near parking lots around Ed Austin Regional Park, warning people to lock their cars and leave nothing of value inside.
“It’s bad. You can’t leave anything in the car,” parkgoer, Laurie Krieger said.
Krieger said she is a regular at the dog park, and vehicle break-ins have been happening more frequently.
JSO even put these signs around the park reminding people to lock their cars and take everything out @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/WkDSbIMCVF
— Danielle Avitable (@Danielle_NBC4) September 4, 2018
“Literally there’s almost like one a day. There’s one a day. It’s constant,” Krieger said.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office crime-mapping tool, within the past few weeks there have been seven vehicle break-ins around the park.
“We’ve actually watched scouting people, but never seen anyone break in,” Krieger said.
Action News Jax reported last Thursday about a string of smash-and-grabs at Bailey’s Gym in the San Souci area.
After seeing that story, a woman reached out about her car getting broken into at the park.
“She came back, and (her) purse was gone, glass was broken,” Krieger said.
The woman said that the thieves went to Target and within 30 minutes spent $2,000 on her credit card.
Krieger said she thinks people are being targeted.
“I think they watch. They see you walk away, and if they can see anything in your car (they) smash and grab,” Krieger said.
People who were at this park earlier said that several of the break-ins have been happening in the front of the parking lot near the entrance to the park.
Cox Media Group
