Thieves burglarize 12 vehicles in Lakewood on Labor Day

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Hard working people in a Lakewood neighborhood all woke up with the same feeling Monday.

“It`s really sad that someone in our neighborhood would do this,” said Jennifer Martinez, who woke up to see her new Jeep decimated. “I came out and the window was all smashed in and the stereo wires were all ripped out.”

For Steve Benedict, his beloved truck was one of 12 vehicles burglarized near 6th Avenue and Kipling Street early Monday morning.

“I started walking down the block and car after car was destroyed,” Benedict said. “This was all destroyed they ripped my dash out took my stereo. It’s all just really unfortunate.”

Overnight thieves shattered windows, stole everything in sight and even tried to light one car on fire

“It`s a day off,” Benedict said. “Everybody was supposed to celebrate working and labor and they come out and steal cars and break into cars — on a day like that.”

Police said they are seeing more of this type of crime. Last week in Castle Rock, thieves hit three streets in the Parker North subdivision.

In the end, whatever the auto crime, it’s one we all pay for. Why? Carole Walker with the Rocky Mountain Insurance Association explains.

“We all pay for it when it comes to our auto insurance,” Walker said. “All of our rates go up.”

In Lakewood, police spent Monday morning investigating and talking to victims. One witness says around 4:30 a.m. he looked out his window and saw several young men laughing.

One of their victims is Martinez, a single mom with five kids who now must come up with $200 to fix her window.