Tricia’s Police Drama – A Guy Got Arrested For Breaking Into Cars In Her Neighborhood

Going to work at 4 a.m. is usually pretty uneventful but this morning I got caught up in a police drama worthy of 'Law & Order'!

The day started normally - my alarm went off at 3 a.m., I got up, showered, and went to my laundry room for some clothes. When I flipped on the light, I heard some commotion in the backyard that I figured was a cat.  I didn't give it a second thought until I left my house and ran right into four police cars and a bunch of cops on my street!

One cop car on your street is scary enough, but four? I stopped and asked what was going on and a police officer told me that they were looking for someone and everything was under control. It wasn't until I was almost to the freeway when I remembered the noise when I was in my laundry room and thought MAYBE THE BAD GUY WAS IN MY BACKYARD!!!! I raced back to where the cops were, told them about the noise, freaked out a bit, and then left them my number in case it turned out the bad guy was lurking my yard.

Fast forward to 6 o'clock when I got a call from a listener who lives in my neighborhood and told me there were even more cops in the neighborhood, and they were talking to people who live there. I was really scared, so I called the lovely folks at the Pebble Hills Command Center and asked what the heck was going on. They told me they had arrested a suspect who was breaking into cars IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD! They also said this kind of thing happens a lot in the summer because kids are out of school and people leave their car windows down so they won't be so hot.

So, how can you avoid having a ton of police in your neighborhood at 4 in the morning?

1. Don't leave your car windows down. A thief can put their lawless little fingers in the gap and pull your window out.  It's what thieves do.

2. Don't leave stuff in your car overnight. It's tempting to not have to drag a lot of stuff out in the morning, but a thief will see that stuff and take it. It's what thieves do.

3. Always check your windows, doors, and garage doors before you go to sleep. It's hot, and you might think a cracked window or slightly open garage door will help cool things off, but all it will do is help a grubby little thug get in your house or car and take off with your stuff. It's what thieves do.

The good news is the cops caught their suspect. The bad news is they keep making stupid people out there who want to swipe your stuff. You can't stop stupid people from wanting to take your stuff - all you can do is make it harder for them to do it.