Fairfield police release a video warning of an increase in thefts and urging precautions

Fairfield police have urged community members to lock their cars after officers responded to 48 thefts from cars and 17 thefts from cars since September 1. The reminder to do this and not leave anything valuable in cars isn’t new, but police have seen an increase in these types of crimes in the past few months, so they’ve released surveillance videos of a few incidents to highlight the consequences of what can happen.

“I think in a community like Fairfield there’s a general sense of, ‘It’s safe.’ And it is. But these are what we call crimes of opportunity, and if we continue to allow that opportunity, these individuals will continue to come in and continue to take advantage of it,” said Sgt. Michael Stahl. “We felt it was important to get away from the ‘It’s 9 p.m., lock your doors’ type messages and really show people what’s happening in our city and across the state.”

On the afternoon of September 1, police responded to Lovers Lane after calls about two teenagers on a moped trying to gain access to cars in people’s driveways. When officers got there, the two had already left. But police later learned they had gone to nearby Highlawn Road, where video footage showed them hitting a Range Rover parked in a driveway. Karen Masliah and her husband have lived there for 22 years.

“My husband went to Home Depot. He came back and didn’t lock his car, which is very unusual for him,” Masliah told News 12.

Masliah said they had no idea the SUV had been accessed or that the keys had been stolen.

“My husband had a set of keys in his car. We have a restaurant, and these are the spare keys to the restaurant,” Masliah explained. ‘And he had a house key that he had completely forgotten.’

That is, until the thieves returned around 3am. The home’s doorbell camera caught them trying to break in before they decided to leave.

“I don’t know if they were shocked or what and left, but our door was actually opened. They managed to open it. You feel so violated,” Masliah said. “I haven’t slept for three days. We ordered an alarm the next day, changed the locks and the police were great.”

Police said the two suspects, aged 14 and 17, were later arrested. Both are from Bridgeport.

“Even though they are juveniles, from what we could tell they have extensive criminal histories, and one of them was arrested just days after the first incident for having a firearm and being involved in a shooting in another city,” says Stahl. stated, adding that the crimes are usually committed by people who don’t live in Fairfield.

Last week, police arrested a 17-year-old from New Haven in a separate incident. Police said that around 5 a.m. on November 3, patrol officers observed two vehicles parked with their doors open at Oldfield Road and Smith Street and multiple people trying to gain access to parked cars nearby. When they saw the police, the two vehicles took off. Police followed and were able to use a tire deflation device to stop one of the cars attempting to enter I-95 North. Police took the underage driver into custody after a brief pursuit and said he told them the group was targeting Fairfield as a place with easy access to unlocked cars.

“It is not our intention to spread this video and scare people. It’s just to give you an idea of ​​what’s happening so you can make better decisions about how to be vigilant about locking your car, removing valuables, and securing your home,” Stahl explains .

Masliah said she is grateful to police and that what happened doesn’t change her love for Fairfield.

‘We’re all doing well. Everyone is safe and sound. The police have done an excellent job. They captured the people. I have been sleeping really well lately,” Masliah told News 12.