Several home security cameras captured footage of a group of thieves breaking into a number of vehicles in Canyon Country early Monday morning.
Early Monday morning, residents of the Fair Oaks Ranch neighborhood woke up to discover that some of their vehicles had been broken into overnight.
“There were several reports taken of vehicle burglaries in that area of Fair Oaks,” said Shirley Miller, spokesperson for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “Some of the vehicles were broken into, some of the vehicles were left unlocked.”
Several residents reviewed footage from their Ring home security devices and found that they had captured footage of the thieves in action.
One resident reported on social media that their black Toyota Rav4 was stolen from their driveway on Starling Court, and that they “saw some footage of my stolen car being used by two guys to steal things from other cars in the neighborhood.”
Another neighbor reported checking footage from his camera after his wife saw social media posts about the break-ins.
“We have seen reports of this kind of thing, but this looked pretty organized,” he said on the condition of anonymity. “It certainly makes you feel unsafe, and we’re obviously concerned. But I was very happy that our neighbors came together to gather all the video quickly.”
The exact items stolen from the vehicles was unknown as of Monday afternoon, as detectives were still investigating the incident, according to Miller.
Miller went on to describe how incidents like this are fairly common, saying that a sergeant with the Crime Prevention Unit once arrested a suspect who admitted to “trying 200 doors a night.”
“That’s what they do,” Miller said. “They will literally try hundreds of cars in the hopes of scoring items in a few of them.”
See Related: Sheriff’s Deputies Use #9PMRoutine To Share Theft Prevention Tips
If residents wish to keep their vehicles safe from theft, Miller said that it takes more than just locking their doors.
“It’s two-fold,” Miller said. “It’s not only locking your doors, but also removing items that would tempt someone to break a window. It just takes them 30 seconds to break into a window.”
Residents are encouraged to set a reminder, nightly, to remind them to follow a few steps to help prevent theft.
Some steps that officials recommend taking are to remove valuables such as electronic devices and wallets from vehicles, ensure that all vehicle doors are locked, check that all house and property exterior doors and garage doors are locked and turn on exterior lights.
“These are simple things the community can do before they go to bed to partner with us to prevent themselves from becoming a victim of crime,” said Sheriff’s Station Capt. Robert Lewis in a previous story.
To give tips on what has worked to prevent valuables from being stolen, residents can share the post using the hashtag #9PMRoutine and follow the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and City of Santa Clarita social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“Please use 9-1-1 to report an emergency. This hashtag is a fun way to remind people to lock up and secure their valuables every evening. We look forward to the community getting involved and sharing their 9 p.m. routine,” said City Spokesperson Carrie Lujan in a previous story.
If residents witness a crime being committed, they are encouraged to call 9-1-1 or the Sheriff’s Station at 661-255-1121.
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Please remember you can only use your firearm if they enter your home. I know it would be cleaned to kill outside but don’t do it.
This happened on my street, and the dirt-bags had some sort of electronic device that opened the cars. You can see in the 2nd video that 2 of the cars had the lights flash as if the fob unlocked it. My video caught them trying my cars (which I always keep locked) but they did not open. The deputy told me they were using some sort of electronic device to attempt the break-in.
KHTS, did you not hear this detail?
No, you can use your firearm anywhere….it’s only legal when they enter your home 😉
And to think we used to hang horse thieves back in the day. Wouldn’t mind reinstating this punishment for car thieves.
Has everybody forgotten what a garage is for? Seems so.