Thieves in southern Jefferson County find unlocked cars easy break-in targets

A metro area county seeing a 50 percent jump in one crime this month that police say can be completely prevented.

So far this September, a thief or thieves have broken into 64 vehicles in south Jefferson County—much of that in Ken Caryl Ranch.

Forty happened over four days, from Sept. 13 to 16.

And each of those vehicles had one thing in common: The owners didn’t lock the doors.

So it was easy for crooks to climb inside and steal whatever valuables they could find, including purses, cell phones, laptops, GPS units, wallets and cash.

It happened to one woman’s husband on Trailrider Pass. Shirley did not want to give her last name.

“My husband went to his truck. He was going to empty it out. We were going to help my sister move. And he realized his computer from work was stolen,” says Shirley. “He just started a new job. It was very upsetting. He had to go in on Monday and tell them it was gone.”

Trespassers also rifled through Ed Dornfeld’s Ford truck and his wife’s Chevy Impala on Last Dollar Pass. They didn’t take anything, but they did leave a mess.

“I very seldom lock the cars. It’s very annoying to me to have to remember to have the keys if I just want to look in the car. It’s just inconvenient to keep the cars locked all the time. Also, I like to think this is a safe neighborhood,” says Dornfeld.

They also searched through his neighbor’s Suburban across the street.

“It’s not one thing I can’t be lax on, I guess. I’m just going to have to lock it,” she says.

Deputies remind people to lock up and immediately report anything suspicious in your neighborhood.