The Victim: Martha Dunton
The Crime: Burglary of motor vehicle
Date: Thursday, Aug. 16
Time: Between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Location: 6300 block of Waggoner
It was a small space, but a big crime.
Martha Dunton went outside and found that her SUV had been broken into. Someone had jimmied the back window. And like so many in the Dallas area, Dunton discovered that her third row seats were gone.
The theft of third row seats is a common crime around here, and the same crime was committed at another home on the same night in her neighborhood.
“Our police patrol says it happens all the time,” Dunton says. “They worked it through the back window. At least they didn’t smash the glass.”
A quick YouTube search of this type of crime reveals that a thief can get in and out of a car and make off with these types of seats in mere minutes. In Dunton’s case, the thieves even removed some cases of water to make their work easier and then placed the water back inside the SUV when they were finished.
While replacing the seats might have been an expensive hassle, Dunton tries to look on the bright side and believes things could have been worse. A broken window would have added quite a bit to the repair bill.
Dallas Police Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division reports that there is good news on area law enforcement’s efforts to deter this type of crime. Just after Dunton’s experience, Highland Park police arrested two suspects for stealing third row seats from vehicles.
“The suspects jimmied or broke out the rear window to enter the vehicles,” he says. “I understand they will be charged with an additional 12 other offenses of the same type of theft. Along with Highland Park, the area around Mockingbird/Greenville has also experienced a rash of third row seat thefts.”
Dallas detectives will be working with Highland Park police to determine if the two suspects may also be responsible for the rash of third row seat thefts in Dallas over the last several months.
| crime numbers |
9:35
Time of morning on Aug. 27 when Dallas Police officers arrived at the 3800 block of Turtle Creek Drive to find the body of a W.T. White High School graduate floating in the creek; fire rescue pulled him out, and an investigation is ongoing
09.06
Date when a high school student returned to his locker after cross-country practice to find his locker open and his iPhone stolen
$406
Worth of phones stolen during a burglary at Sprint in the 5400 block of Greenville
Source: Dallas Police Department
