Cars stolen in town
Student deals with car-jacking at apt. complex
By Ashley Hopkins, contributing writer
Posted on October 30, 2006

HARRISONBURG — Imagine waking up for class, heading out the door and finding a different car in the space you’re sure you parked the night before.

This became a reality for junior Mary Shenk, whose car was stolen from a parking lot outside The Mill Apartments during Homecoming weekend. 

“I at first thought that it was towed,” Shenk said, who assumed that with the confusion of Homecoming, a tow truck operator had overlooked her parking sticker. 

After getting a ride to class, Shenk met with her landlord only to find out that they had not been towing the night before. After she and her friends searched various parking lots around The Mill, Shenk called the police to report her vehicle as stolen. 

“I was shocked,” Shenk said.  “This just happens in movies.”

Police found her car on Pine Street in Harrisonburg within 24 hours and with minor damages, Shenk said. The driver’s side lock was bent from the break-in and the ignition was torn apart from being started with a screwdriver.

Police later arrested four boys thought to be involved in the crime in Winchester. The boys, all under the age of 18, had escaped from a juvenile detention center, said investigator Mike Spiggle of the Harrisonburg Police Department.

The group would move from place to place, stealing vehicles and dropping them off, and ended up with four total: Shenk’s Dodge Stratus, two vehicles from surrounding Harrisonburg areas and one from Winchester. 

While all vehicles have been recovered, many victims of theft are not so lucky. 

Spiggle said 48 vehicles have been stolen in Harrisonburg between Jan. 1 and Oct. 12, with only 10 being recovered within 24 hours. Twenty-one of these 48 were stolen with available car keys (keys left in the vehicle, in plain view or taken by the suspect), causing police to urge citizens to keep close track of their keys whenever leaving their vehicle. 

Spiggle also warned about the importance of securing one’s belongings when hosting a party, especially when it’s crowded and almost impossible to keep track of everyone attending.  In these cases, it may be easy for someone to walk away with an extra set of keys.

“Some people go to these parties just to steal,” he said.

Lt. Kurt Boshart of the HDP urged students to always lock their doors and never leave valuables or keys in a car unattended. He also recommended parking in well-lit areas and investing in security systems to help deter theft.

In order to educate college students about other ways to prevent theft, the HPD will be hosting a presentation called Help Eliminate Auto Theft, H.E.A.T., next month. 

This event, occurring on Nov. 9 and 10, will provide attendees with information on how to prevent auto theft, state and local auto theft trends, auto theft prevention strategies and devices, and vehicle identification number etching.