Pekin, Ill. (HOI) – A number of people on the north side of Pekin woke up Saturday morning and realized someone broke into their cars. One of those vehicles was reported stolen from an apartment parking lot.
Pekin Police say there were several car break-ins over the weekend, but many people didn’t want to file reports because they were only missing loose change. That wasn’t the case at Westgate Apartments.
“My biggest fear would have been them kind of watching or eyeballing the area, getting the feel for it before they came,” said Ashley Economos.
Economos says many people living in the Westgate Apartments have young children and they could have been hurt. She says her car was locked, but that didn’t stop the thieves from breaking in.
“They left the change, but they took my work bag, my wallet that was inside my work bag. They took my friend’s work bag, a thousand dollars worth of makeup and the shoes that were in my trunk,” said Economos.
Pekin Police say many people leave their cars open overnight, making it easier for break-ins.
“Nine out of 10 are not going to break into a vehicle to get something out of the vehicle, so if you lock your doors you’re going to be pretty safe,” said Pekin Police Public Information Officer Billie Ingles. “Now if you leave belongings in there that they can see through the windows and see something that they might want, then they’ll be more likely to break into that vehicle.”
Ingles says police don’t have any information about the suspects right now.
“It doesn’t matter what the age is. If the opportunity is there and they want it, then they’re going to open the car door and get it,” said Ingles.
She says the department is still trying to find the car that was stolen in the Saturday morning string of burglaries. Economos says they probably didn’t get very far.
“He only had a quarter of a tank of gas in his car, so they had to have stopped somewhere soon. They had to hit the highway real quick or they parked his car somewhere,” said Economos.
The Westgate Apartments Landlord hopes local gas stations will have surveillance videos of the stolen vehicle. Police say it could still take several days to get more information about this case.
