Dirty Rotten Thieves

I drove to The Woodlands yesterday to do a little birthday shopping for my mom. Apparently Sam Moon isn't open on Sunday, so it probably wasn't necessary to make the 35 minute drive north. But, I do LOVE this area, and they have some great outdoor shopping, so the drive was still worth it. I needed to run a few other errands, so I drove back to Houston and went to a little shopping center off of Richmond (near the Galleria) where there was a Best Buy and a World Market. I went in both stores and was probably gone only about 20 minutes between the two. As I walked toward my car, I noticed a woman standing nearby. She asked if the Nissan was mine, and I said yes. She asked if I heard what had happened, and I said no. As I rounded the back end of the car toward the passenger side, I saw glass everywhere. My car had been broken into! Apparently a silver car pulled up next to my vehicle, the passenger jumped out, smashed my glass, grabbed what he could, jumped back in the car and they sped off. This happened at 3:30pm in broad daylight, with tons of people in and out of the parking lot.

The good and the bad: I'll start with bad. I had left my purchases on the front seat, knowing it wasn't smart. I thought about putting them in the trunk, but I wasn't expecting to be gone long, so I didn't worry about it. There's glass literally ALL OVER the inside of my car. I still haven't cleaned it out. My comp deductible is $500, and it'll cost $250 to replace, so I'll be paying out of pocket.

The Good: three people witnessed the crime, and one lady got the license plate number. Turns out it was a rental car from the DFW airport. They can contact Hertz to see who's name the car was rented in, and that may lead them to the culprit. The guy also left some nice prints (the cops dusted for fingerprints), so that may also lead to an arrest. There was no damage to my car, other than the smashed window, and the dealership can replace it within a few hours.

Here are a few pictures:

Just the night before, my mom had a terrible scare at home back in Baton Rouge. She had gone out on the patio around midnight, and quickly heard footsteps under the car port. She ran inside and locked the door, and went to her bathroom to get a better look. There was a man in a hooded sweatshirt under the car port trying to open her car door. When he realized it was locked, he went to the other vehicle, which was also locked. She lost sight of him, so I guess he left and moved on to another house. She called Cody, who called for a deputy to come out. They also sent two undercover cops, but weren't able to find the guy.

Ironically enough, just earlier this week, I had conversations with my dad and Cody about buying a handgun. Cody is going to take me to the range this week so I can try out his baby Glock. I was always scared to have a gun with roommates around, but if you're properly trained and comfortable shooting, it could reduce fear, or even save your life.

The moral of this blog - never leave anything in your front seat. Even if it's not valuable, the inconvenience of replacing a broken window is reason enough to use your trunk. And, always be aware of your surroundings. Keep the doors locked and alarm on at all times. And, if you're comfortable, buy a gun.