The Crime: Burglary of a Motor Vehicle
The Victims: Kevin, Lynn and Neal Bolton
Date: Sunday, March 2
Time: Just after 11 p.m.
Place: 6000 block of Tulip Lane
They say there’s a first time for everything.
That was certainly the case for the Bolton family recently.
After living in their Preston Hollow home for 20 years, the family had its first brush with crime there. Two of the family cars were broken into while they were parked in the driveway.
“They actually broke into my car first, but when they didn’t find anything worth taking, they moved on to my son’s car,” she says. “They stole my son’s wallet and about $55 in cash.”
Bolton says no one in the family heard a sound during either break in.
“And the really strange part is that my son had his friends over that night and they were all awake when this happened,” she adds. “In fact, one of his friends left the house around 11 that night and said he saw nothing. He came back about a half hour later and saw that the cars had been broken into. So it must have happened within that 30 minute window — that’s how fast it all happened.”
That same night, there was another car burglary down the street, but Bolton says she’s not sure if the two incidents are related. Either way, Bolton says this has been an eye-opener for the whole family.
“My son should never have left his wallet in his car, especially in plain view where someone could easily see it,” she says. “I think he’s learned an important lesson from this, and I know I have. We’re all going to be extra vigilant about not leaving any valuables in our car from now on.”
Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse says Bolton has the right idea.
“Burglars look in car windows just like we look in shop windows — they’re searching for something that catches their eye, something they want,” he says. “I can’t stress enough that car burglaries are always a crime of opportunity.”
Both of Bolton’s cars were parked in a driveway behind the house, not inside a garage. Janse says if garage parking isn’t an option, there are still some ways you can curb car burglaries.
“If you have to park your car outside, park it as close to your house as possible and park it under as many lights as possible,” he says. “If you can get motion detector lights, those are good too, and a good car alarm isn’t a bad idea either.”
