Chris Enns and her husband were traveling from Grass Valley to Monterey March 28 to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, when their luggage and a cache of valuable items were stolen from their car during a lunch stop in Morgan Hill.
An unknown suspect smashed two windows of their vehicle while they were eating at Chili’s on Cochrane Road, said Enns, an author. Stolen were two laptop computers, iPads, irreplaceable work files and everything that was in the couple’s luggage.
Enns called MHPD as soon as they noticed the damage and theft. The couple hasn’t heard any updates from police, and their stolen items have not been recovered, she said.
Through her conversations with an officer and others associated with the parking lot property outside Chili’s, which is part of the Cochrane Commons shopping center anchored by Target, Enns learned that such vehicle break-ins are common on the commercial properties in the area where Cochrane Road intersects with U.S. 101.
“It’s amazing your police department knows about these people, but doesn’t do anything about it,” Enns said. “There needs to be signage (in the parking lots) that says people leave their vehicles at their own risk.”
Police have seen an “influx” of such crimes, known as theft from a vehicle, along the stretch of Cochrane Road from the Target shopping center, south to the parking lots of In N Out, Denny’s and a shopping center at the corner of Cochrane and Madrone Parkway that houses numerous tenants, according to MHPD Sgt. Carson Thomas.
He noted that about half of the recent incidents are “crimes of opportunity” in which the vehicle owner has left the cars unlocked, and the other half result from “people leaving valuables in the front and back seat, visible.”
The precise numbers of these crimes don’t show a plague of vehicle burglaries, but many who frequent these properties are aware of the incidents. Some have taken extra security precautions in recent weeks as a result.
From October 2016 to March 2017, eleven theft from vehicle crimes were reported on these Cochrane Road properties, according to MHPD Crime Analyst Margarita Balagso.
No arrests have been made in relation to these thefts, but Thomas suspects the thief or thieves are from out of town—“most likely from up north.” He noted that the location of these parking lots, with easy access to the freeway, makes it difficult to catch the suspects.
“It’s a high concentrated area of people who are shopping or eating, so crooks figure people are going to be in those establishments for a while,” Thomas said.
He added that MHPD is working with regional law enforcement task forces to investigate the crimes and identify a suspect or suspects.
Thefts are bad for business
A handful of employees at the shopping center at Madrone and Cochrane, contacted by the Times April 11, were aware of the recent string of vehicle break-ins.
Jared Stephen, manager of Anytime Fitness, said the center’s property manager recently beefed up security by making regular foot and vehicle patrols in the parking lot. He said there have been “no issues” since that started about two weeks ago.
He added that customers of the 24-hour gym were “voicing their concerns” about the uptick in vehicle burglaries, prompting the additional security. Others were frequently posting about the incidents on Facebook and other social media.
“That’s bad for business once stuff like that goes on (social media),” Stephen added.
A few doors down at Peet’s Coffee, manager Amanda Dekelaita said she has heard from customers about the recent thefts. She also said she hasn’t heard of any further crimes since the increase in security a couple weeks ago.
Managers of In N Out and Chili’s referred the Times to their corporate offices, which did not respond before press time.
Enns added that since her car was broken into, she has been warning people she knows not to stop in Morgan Hill when they’re traveling through the area.
Balagso, the city’s crime analyst, added that throughout Morgan Hill, a total of 55 theft from vehicle incidents have been reported from October to March.
