Thieves don’t take Christmas break
By Bill Lawson / Staff Writer / blawson@maumellemonitor.com
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:08 AM CST
Apparently thieves targeting Maumelle don’t take a Christmas break, according to reports filed with Maumelle police.
Maumelle Police Chief Sam Williams said he continues to remind Maumelle residents to call police if they see someone who looks out of place in a neighborhood.
“Legitimate visitors and business workers don’t mind visiting with police who might inquire about their activities,” Williams said. Legitimate residents and workers want to know that Maumelle police take the extra efforts to check out people who look out of place, he said. “It’s the best crime deterrent we can have,” Williams said.
On Dec. 20, Williams said a Maumelle resident reported a $25,000 Toyota Camry stolen from his garage on Marseille Drive. Unfortunately, the 35-year-old owner not only left the garage unopened, but he also left the keys in the car, Williams said.
Williams has preached for years about locking cars and closing garages.
“Otherwise, it’s just an open invitation for thieves to take your property,” Williams said.
In addition to locking things up, Williams asked Maumelle residents to be on the lookout for people who look out of place.
“We’d much rather have you call us and discover that the person you reported was a legitimate person than find out too late that it was a thief who’d just stolen from you or a neighbor,” Williams said.
Williams asked that Maumelle residents help the police protect their homes and property. He said that detectives and patrol officers had placed special emphasis on stopping burglaries and car break-ins this past year. And he said the detectives had been very successful solving several burglaries.
He praised his patrol officers who, while checking out people who look out of place, arrested teenagers who were recently charged with a rash of car break-ins in Maumelle and all over the county.
On Dec. 21, a 46-year-old North Little Rock woman reported her purse was stolen from her car, parked at her place of business, Ace Hardware on Murphy Drive. Police said the passenger side window had been broken out to get into the car. Along with her purse, the victim reported two checkbooks, her social security card, driver's license and numerous credit cards were missing.
Police said security cameras at Ace Hardware had caught video of someone breaking into the woman’s car.
“A vigilant observant cadre of Maumelle residents is the best way to catch these thieves,” Williams said.
