[November 07, 2009]

Pinecrest police: Thieves targeting electronics shoppers: Pinecrest police say beware of thieves targeting computer buyers who then go elsewhere, leaving their new purchases in their cars.

Nov 07, 2009 (The Miami Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Shoppers in Pinecrest and Kendall beware: Thieves are preying on customers who leave their electronics purchases in their cars while they eat or continue shopping.

A favorite target: Apple computers.

Pinecrest Police are warning people to be aware and to look out for suspicious people who may be following them after leaving stores like the Apple Store, Best Buy and BrandsMart USA.

With the Christmas shopping season approaching, it's especially important to be vigilant.

Vehicle burglaries in the Pinecrest and Kendall areas have increased, police said.

The burglaries happen "sporadically," according to Pinecrest Police Chief John Hohensee.

"At some point after the purchase is made, the customers are spotted carrying the purchase in an Apple bag," he said. "If the customer does not go home directly with the purchase -- if they make an intermediary stop -- criminals, having watched them make this purchase, know the equipment is in the car." And that's when the burglars strike, shattering car windows and making off with whatever purchase was left inside.

Last month, for example, a thief smashed a window on a 2008 Ford in the parking lot of IHOP, 11927 S. Dixie Hwy., and stole a $1,500 MacBook Pro and other computer equipment.

The owner had just bought the computer at the Apple Store at The Falls shopping center.

The trend has been going on for at least a few months.

Two police reports provided to The Miami Herald from Aug. 16 and Aug. 20 show customers from two stores getting robbed shortly just after buying computers.

A Miami man bought two MacBook Pro laptops, valued at $4,919 from The Falls' Apple Store, according to the police report. The buyer then drove to the nearby Best Buy -- and left the laptops in the rear driver side seat while he shopped.

When he came back out, his rear driver side window had been smashed.

The laptops? Gone.

A witness described a white man "wearing light shorts with a green and red belt and dark shirt" driving away in a black BMW with dark tinted windows.

Best Buy surveillance cameras were checked by Pinecrest Police but the car could not be seen, according to the report.

A similar crime occurred four days later when a Coral Gables woman bought a MacBook from the Apple Store at Dadeland Mall, ate at its food court with her family and then parked to shop at a Pinecrest shoe store.

When she returned, she discovered her front and rear driver side windows had been broken. The thief had then stolen her new laptop from the car's trunk. Police are asking shoppers to be careful and report anything that seems suspicious.

They are recommending that shoppers go straight home after making an expensive purchase. If a stop has to be made, then take the item in with you, police said.

To stop the crimes, Pinecrest Police are patrolling along U.S. 1, including using plainclothes officers in unmarked cars or on foot.

To see more of The Miami Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Miami Herald Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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