Thieves steal family's Christmas gifts from car on Black Friday
CLACKAMAS, Ore. – A family that went to the Clackamas Town Center Thanksgiving night in time for stores to open at midnight for Black Friday had their Christmas presents stolen out of their car.
Josh Salazar and his fiancé parked their Jeep in the lot by the movie theater.
At about 1:30 a.m. they put the gifts they bought in the back seat, including Ultra Plush throw blankets, a Black & Decker Belgian waffle maker and a blender they bought at Macy's.
After four more hours of shopping they came out and discovered they were victims of a smash-and-grab.
"I come over to see if I can unlock the door, and I can see through the car. I can see all the glass shattered. I can see the glass on the ground, and my heart just sank," said Josh Salazar. "I felt like I wanted to throw up. First thing that happened: my fiancé just broke down in tears."
All the family was left with was a smashed window and a rock that was used to break it.
With $200 in stolen gifts and a window that costs about the same to fix, Salazar is trying to figure out how to pull off Christmas for his family. He's hoping his story will save other shoppers from making the same mistake and that someone will turn the thief in.
Salazar wasn't the only victim. According to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, there were 11 thefts reported on Thursday and Friday in the area around Clackamas Town Center and up 82nd Avenue for about a mile.
From Thursday until Monday, the number jumped to 31.
Did the police ask to see receipts?
I SO agree!! I also feel badly that this happened to them...but come on...you leave those gifts on the back seat in full view?!?!???? I even have to wonder if there really were gifts and this isn't just some way of getting help from generous folks who might offer it :( You just get jaded in times like this with all the scammers and thieves out and about. I just can't believe with all that's written about hiding your things in the trunk or something, that they would still do this.
I'm amazed that this keeps happening year after year. While I do feel badly for the Salazar family (as well as the other 11 reported incident victims), and I sincerely do hope they catch the cretins who did it.... How many times do people have to hear 'don't leave valuables in plain sight in your vehicles' before it sinks in? Put it in the trunk, under a cargo cover in the back... heck, even covering things up with a blanket in the back. But, lets be realistic here folks. With twice as much acreage in the parking lot as there is in the mall, rent-a-cops or even mounted (or roaming) patrol officers can't be everywhere at once. It takes less than :20 for a thief to do their thing and make off with your goodies. Do you really believe that your car is a safe place to leave things?
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Yes, ideally ... in a perfect world... we could leave things like laptops and iPods in our cars. But, we don't live in that world. We live in a world where opportunistic thieves are drawn like ferris metals to magnets to 'easy grab' opportunities. Opportunities like, I dunno.... mall parking lots around the holidays?
"...including Ultra Plush throw blankets, a Black & Decker Belgian waffle maker and a blender they bought at Macy's"
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Some may laugh at those presents, but at least you can USE them for feeding families. Unlike the games garbage, which just wastes a mind and body.
Maybe if we actually punished thieves instead of slapping them on the hand and turning them loose, we could lessen the amount of thefts. Â This will work with normal thieves but not druggers. Â
And another thought...be sure that your gifts that are delivered to your doorstep are actually brought in when delivered, or have them delivered to your work. There will be thieves driving after the delivery trucks and snatching those boxes right off the porch.Â
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Nothing is safe anymore. Too many scrooges out there.Â
We go shopping, we leave and head home after shopping, we do not drive around and shop this is a really dumb idea. If need be will make trips 2 or 3 days later.
go figure. happens every year. i am surprised people are still trusting. dont leave your things in your car if you want to keep them.
to some people it's the taking that counts this time of year
A locked car only keeps the honest people out. The thieves are getting worse on a daily basis. There have always been thieves watching parking lots, hoping people will leave their gifts. I used to do one or two gifts at a time, but they were all locked in the trunk of a heavy duty car. Now, I would not leave them out of my sight, it is sad this happened, but it happens at all times of the day. Leave an armed guard on your car if necessary...but do not count on having your stuff still there..
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Perhaps a nice hungry Rottweiler would help
How many times do people have to be told "Don't leave valuables in your car." If you do and they get stolen, that's the price you pay for being dumb. Now quit crying like a victim. You set yourself up for this, don't expect people to feel sorry for you. Same with the idiots still falling for the phone/internet scams.
Once again police are there to take the reports. They don't stop crime.
Your car isn't some kind of safe. Don't treat it as such.
Idiot.Â
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You do lot leave packages in the rear seat. Heck you do not go back to your car and put packages into the trunk and go back to the store without moving to the other side of the lot. Most cars have an interior trunk release. The bad guy smashes your window, pops the trunk and gets your goodies. I have disabled the interior trunk release so you have to have the key to open things up unless you remove 6 bolts and pull the rear seat.
Don't leave anything unattended in your car that's going to cause major issues for you if it's stolen. Â We're seeing a lot of these smash-'n-grabs now, and I imagine it's going to get only worse as time goes on. Â
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granny4life makes an excellent point, too: Â Don't haul armloads of stuff out to your car, then go back for more; some of these people just stand around and watch for prospective victims. Â Â Don't make it easy for them..!
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And women: Â DON'T leave your purses in the shopping carts while you're shopping! Â I still see this all the time in the stores... woman's looking at stuff on the shelves or counters, and her purse is sitting there in that little seat where kids sit...sometimes, the purses are even OPEN..! Â Â Just makes me shake my head in disbelief...
 @margay1 I agree about the purses. I have one of those traveling wallets that I use when I go shopping - just to keep it on me and not deal with the purse routine.Â
 @margay1 It's crazy how trusting people are. Sucks that we have to think like thieves to avoid being targets. In addition to your great tips... If you take purchases to your trunk, change parking spots to the other side of the mall. If you can't stand carrying your purse in the grocery store, at least use the safety belt wrapped around your purse handle several times, and, put it in the lower part of the cart and then pile your purchases on top of it.
 @Lips  @margay1 It's not crazy that people are so trusting. It is crazy that low-lifes take advantage.  I have been burglarized before, but I refuse to let them take my faith in my fellow humans as well...
 @needlefrau  @margay1 I have plenty of faith in my fellow humans. Faith that given a chance a percentage will rob me, rape me and possibly kill me. Now if I could just read their minds.... Hmm... anyway, until then, I trust no strangers. That's not to say I won't or don't take a chance when the occasion calls. Cautiously. Do you know you can smile and still be suspicious?
 @Lips ~ In re "thinking like thieves", ain't it the Truth..???  I like your ideas, too... changing parking spots between shopping "sprees, and using the safety belts to secure a purse in the shopping cart.   And I've seen a few women who did that, and also put their purses down in the lower part and piled their stuff on top of the purse... Â
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I carry a purse with a cross-body strap; it's double-strapped (heavy leather) and the straps are reinforced to make it very slash-resistant. Â It doesn't leave my side from the time I walk out my front door until I return home (well, while driving, it's next to me on the console)... I had my purse snatched once about 5 or 6 years ago; after that, I swore "never again" and changed purse styles. Â Â
 @margay1 I think I'd go ape poo if someone jacked my purse. There's nothing of real value. Cards that can be canceled, cosmetics, etc... It's just so personal, ya know? Like an extra limb from the time we were teenagers. lol. I'm sorry that happened to such a nice person, such as yourself.
Over and over and over again, people are warned. As if they really need to be. I think the best way for this family to recover Christmas is to cut their losses and be thankful they have each other.
how many times and how many ways do the news folks have to remind these people that you can not leave anything in your car that can been seen by someone passing by, also not to keep going to your car with gifts to put into the trunk and then go back to do more shopping. Â There are folks out there just waiting for all you fool people to give them the opportunity to steal your items. Â The same goes for the stupid women out there that always leave your purse in your car, you are just asking for someone to steal things. Â Maybe your insurance should not cover stupidity any longer and folks would learn. Â