Burglars in Los Altos, looking for loot to snatch from vehicles, broke into 12 cars within four blocks during two hours early in the morning of Nov. 21.
A week earlier several other cars were broken into as well.
"That's a mini-crime wave for us," said Sgt. Bob Lacey of the Los Altos Police Department.
Police officers on routine patrol, noticing a dome light on, discovered the first burglarized car at 3:05 a.m. on Berry Avenue near Miramonte Avenue and Covington Road. Police then followed a trail of cars, with dome lights shining or doors ajar, from Russell to Berry avenues, onto Miramonte toward Covington Road, onto Eastwood Drive. Police found the last car broken into at 5:26 a.m. on Eastwood Court.
The police have no suspects but they have some fingerprints, Lacey said.
"We slept through the whole thing," said Dorothy Touslon, a 45-year resident of Los Altos who lives on Eastwood Drive. She said the police knocked on her door about 5 a.m. The car burglars had gotten into her husband's unlocked Ford Explorer which was parked in the driveway.
"They took our cigarette lighter, the ashtray, some loose change and our garage door opener," she said. The worst part was losing the garage door opener because she had to have it changed immediately. The burglars opened the garage door with the opener, but nothing was missing.
"But they didn't even touch the new case of wine on a bench inside," Touslon said.
David Cain, a 20-year Los Altos resident who lives on Russell Avenue, had three cars broken into. All were unlocked, all were older cars. "But we didn't lose anything," Cain said, "because there was nothing to lose. We don't keep anything in them. They were simply targets of opportunity."
Jennifer Mittman, a seven-year resident on Berry Avenue, is especially glad the older, locked Honda in her driveway wasn't damaged. "We were borrowing the car while ours is in the shop," she said. She noticed the car burglars didn't touch the Mercedes next door.
A year ago, during the last four months of 1994, more than 100 cars in Los Altos were broken into, Lacey said, and car stereos were the target. This year thieves are looking for cellular phones, computers, wallets, loose change, "whatever you can pick up without any tools," Lacey said.
A thief who can steal an activated cellular phone at midnight can make dozens of calls by the time the owner misses it and has it deactivated in the morning, Lacey said. And then the thief can still get about $60 for the phone on the black market.
"If thieves can go through a neighborhood and do 12 cars in one night and get away with it, we need help," Lacey said.
Here are his tips: