A crime spree of similar thefts and burglaries is happening across several Bay Area cities. In each case, thieves are targeting unlocked cars and looking for garage door openers to break into homes.
One of the most recent incidents happened at around 7 a.m. Sunday on Blackstone Drive in Danville.
In a video, a woman's screams can be heard in the background. The screams come after a group of masked men were seen scouting and breaking into multiple unlocked cars, stealing garage door openers and breaking into homes.
“They got into the garage, the door going into the house was also unlocked. They went into the house, took her car keys while she was in the house and attempted to drive her car out of her driveway,” said Danville resident Jeff Su.
Su lives near from where the incident happened. He said the thieves were heard laughing as they ran away. He and others captured security footage of their neighbor running after the thieves. Now, he is coordinating a neighborhood watch.
“I think now they are getting more and more brazen. They're like, 'I can do this now, I can target these seemingly safe towns." So, it’s really quite disheartening,” Su said.
But they didn’t stop there.
Mike Pawlowski, who said he was a victim, said that minutes later, he caught the three thieves breaking into his garage after stealing his remote from his truck.
“I’m a football player, so my reaction was to go to it," he said. "And I started chasing them out of the garage and they went running."
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The suspects got away with Pawlowski’s hunting knives in a white Honda.
Pawlowski credits Danville police for responding immediately. He said law enforcement pursued the suspects but had to stop when they reached a nearby city with a no chase policy.
“It makes you feel vulnerable in your house. It makes you feel unsafe. If we are not going to have consequences for actions like this, then, we are going to keep getting more actions like this. You train bad behavior,” Pawlowski said.
Danville police told NBC Bay Area on Wednesday that at least five garages and eight cars were broken into, including a majority that were left unlocked.
Earlier this month, Moraga police issued a warning as they continue to look for a group they said is responsible for at least 15 thefts and burglaries using the same tactics.
Meanwhile, Palo Alto police arrested two out of three suspects Tuesday they believe were responsible for breaking into a garage in the same way and stealing two cars.
Neighbors back in Danville said the crime spree is causing them to change their habits.
“Probably, I need to be more careful. Generally, I don’t lock my car a lot. I think living in Danville, there is a sense of safety here,” said Danville resident Eric Mandell said.
A majority of the crimes happened around the same time at 7 a.m. While Danville police have not said if they believe they are connected. Palo Alto police told NBC Bay Area that they are working with other agencies to determine if their investigations are connected.
