Chaverim Reminds Residents that Prevention is Key to Prevent Further Shabbos Vehicle Break-Ins

By Chana Weinman

In a pattern going on for far too long, last Shabbos was no different, with a slew of car break-ins plaguing Rockland County shomer Shabbos neighborhoods.

"This past week and the week before, it was the same two people," Yossi Margareten, Chaverim of Rockland, shares with Rockland Daily. "They wore ski masks. Two weeks ago they broke into about twenty cars in the area of Herrick Avenue, Decatur Avenue, and West Central Avenue in Spring Valley."

This week the pair expanded their operation in the Brewer area and broke into about forty cars. And while most of the cars had been left open, the few with their windows smashed suffered the violent measure because valuables such as a pocketbook and a wallet had been left out in the open inside a locked car.

Chaverim was able to locate an empty wallet and some other miscellaneous items from the break-ins last Motzei Shabbos by looking through nearby garbage cans on the following day. The Ramapo police department took the items to help further their investigation.

While Ramapo Police Department detectives are working on finding the criminals, residents throughout Rockland can also work on assisting in the ongoing problem.

"People need to be reminded again to lock their cars, especially before Shabbos," Margareten says. "People should be careful not to leave valuables like wallets, pocketbooks, electronics, or envelopes because that's what gets them to break the windows to get into the cars that are left locked."