By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
In the wake of car burglaries in the Washington Oaks development and the surrounding area, the Princeton Police Department is urging residents to lock their cars and take the keys with them., The car burglaries occurred overnight between April 5 and April 6, police said. In all instances, the victims had left their cars unlocked and parked in the driveway outside their homes., Police advise taking items inside the house or hiding them out of sight in the car, and then locking the car and taking the keys. Those actions make it harder for thieves, who rely on opportunity to commit criminal acts., In the Washington Oaks development, which is off Hutchinson Drive between Route 206 and Mercer Road, cars were entered on Fleming Way, Wilkinson Way and Benjamin Rush Lane., A Fleming Way resident told police that someone had entered her unlocked car and took two pairs of sunglasses and a backpack containing some notebooks. The backpack and its contents were recovered, but not the sunglasses. The loss was estimated at $200., Another Fleming Way resident reported that someone had entered his unlocked car and stole several items valued at about $1,910., On Wilkinson Way, a resident reported someone entered both of her unlocked cars and took an assortment of items valued at $190., Three cell phone chargers, worth a combined $90, were reported stolen from an unlocked car belonging to a Benjamin Rush Lane resident. The victim told police that the car may have been left unlocked., The thieves also entered unlocked cars that were parked in the victims’ driveways on Mercer Road, Gallup Road and Quaker Road – all of which are near the Washington Oaks development., A pair of sunglasses and a GPS unit were stolen from a car that been left unlocked in its owner’s driveway on Gallup Road, off Mercer Road., Thieves also entered parked cars that had been left unlocked in their owners’ driveways in the 500 block of Mercer Road. Nothing was reported missing., A Quaker Road resident told police that several items worth a combined $135 had been stolen from both of his cars, which had been left unlocked while they were parked in the driveway., Police are urging residents to report any suspicious activity to the Princeton Police Department immediately.
