Monthly Archives: March 2022

Returned Stolen Cars May Be Hazardous

Neighborhood Security, Safety

I was reading on the Internet about cars stolen in Bellingham and saw something which I thought I would pass along to all of you.

Kirk Hall

Murphy said many owners of recovered stolen cars tell police that they find large amounts of trash, including small squares of aluminum foil in their cars.

“Some of these cars are just full of the aluminum squares and little straws and pipes and needles,” Murphy said. “You have no idea if there are fentanyl crumbs in there, and we all know that fentanyl is extremely deadly. If it’s in a powder form, it can kill immediately.

“You’re going to need a company to come in and professionally clean that vehicle and very likely decontaminate it from methamphetamine fumes or fentanyl fumes. We recommend people be very careful. Don’t just hop in your car and drive it away, because you just don’t know. And if you see a bunch of drug paraphernalia in there, we would recommend getting it professionally cleaned so that stuff is thrown away properly.”

It’s also important to allow police crime scene investigators a chance to process a recovered car to look for forensic evidence, such as fingerprints, that could possibly lead to an arrest, Murphy said.

Mail Thefts and Society

Neighborhood Security

As many of you know I have a “Ring” doorbell camera (plus a lot of other stuff).  As a result of having a “Ring” I get information about all kinds of illegal activities which other “Ring” owners have suffered.

The old standard reply to mail thefts used to be “Get a locking mail box”. On 9 March someone in Manorwood posted that his locking mailbox had been pried open.  A day before that a community mailbox was broken into and ruined.

Mail theft is a Federal Crime, but the police seem helpless to deal with it as it seems to be classified very low on the enforcement scale.  Because the bad guys know this it makes them bold and more likely to continue. Perhaps we as citizens need to do more to help our local law enforcement deal with these people.  Does anyone think that writing the Postmaster General directly, our Washington State Congressional representatives, and making a formal complaint to the FBI might help?  Our Local Law Enforcement people need more manpower.  Criminals need to be held once they are caught. If our jails do not have the capacity, perhaps a stockade with tents is the answer. (For those who say it is cruel to make criminals sleep in tents in all weather, consider that our military have to serve in all weather, sometimes without even tents to shelter them from the elements.)

Vehicle thefts, break-ins and catalytic converter thefts are on the rise. If you don’t want to install a security camera system, perhaps you should invest in a really good car alarm.  One that activates when glass is broken or the vehicle is lifted and jiggled to get at the catalytic converter.

 

Video Cameras DO Work

Neighborhood Events

Below is an excerpt of a recent report of the capture of a catalytic converter thief in Everett Washington.  If the victim had not had video surveillance, he would have lost his converter and it is doubtful that the thief would ever have been identified. 

A man was arrested in Everett after he was caught on video stealing a catalytic converter Wednesday. Everett police responded after the victim reported the theft.

The victim had video surveillance footage of the theft and was able to provide a description of the suspect to officers who quickly located the suspect a block away with the stolen catalytic converter in his hands.

Car Theft – Good News & a little Bad News

Neighborhood Events

There has been a rash of car thefts from the South Hill area lately. We seem to have been lucky that both of the cars which were stolen from our neighborhood have been recovered.  Just a reminder, keep your cars locked whether in your driveway or in your garage. Below is some good news and some bad news.

Lets start with the good news. A car stolen from 138th Ave. E., south of 122nd St was recovered, undamaged a few days later. The tools which were left at the scene of the 2nd car theft were identified and returned to their owner. No word on the owner of backpack (which turned out to be a special high technology baby changing backpack) {$140 on Amazon}.

In the Good News – and a little Bad News category,  the car stolen north of 122nd turned up in Tacoma at 10:30 PM on Monday 28 Feb.  It looks like it was stolen twice: once from the owner’s garage (the thief found a hidden key) and then later stolen from the first thief (window broken and screw driver jammed in the ignition).  It’s now at the Acura dealership in Fife; we’ll see what they can do with it.  I hope they catch the crooks!

Please lock your cars and keep your garage door closed unless you are right there. We got some decent pictures of the thief from our Neighborhood Cameras and were able to supply a disk containing them to the Sherriff’s Office. We urge you to think about installing good quality cameras at your homes. One of our neighbor’s SUV was left alone after the thief spotted a camera (which had already gotten a picture of him).