High alert

Anne Lovette thought little of it when she found her driver’s side door slightly ajar one morning in June.

In the midst of her routine, Lovette said she immediately attributed it to her 8-year-old son, Connor. Then she noticed that her glove box, center console and change drawers all were open – the last of which, despite it only containing pennies, was empty.

Shortly after, she found the blood in her backseat.

“The strongest feeling I have about the whole thing is that I’m mad at myself for not locking my car,” Anne said, adding that 99 percent of the time she does. “It was an atypical evening when I had returned from traveling. I got something out of the trunk and just forgot.”

Anne reported that stolen items included headsets and a game controller for the vehicle’s entertainment system. Police told Lovette’s husband, Clint, they believed the blood discovered was evidence that one of the perpetrators had been wounded at some point prior that evening – possibly shot.

“Clint and I both grew up in Vestavia,” Anne said. “We’ve lived on Granbury Road for the last nine years, and there have been no incidents like this before.”

The evening of June 6 through the morning of June 7, residents in the areas surrounding the Lovette residence reported valuables were removed from 20 unlocked cars and one vehicle was stolen. Vestavia Hills Police Chief Dan Rary said police apprehended suspects in the case, who allegedly drove to Vestavia Hills from Fultondale in a stolen car.

It was a first for the area, but Rary said such activity is, unfortunately, a reflection of an uptick in the community.

“Residential burglary in Vestavia Hills is not isolated to one street, neighborhood or area,” he said. “Most recently, residential areas adjacent to Columbiana Road and Rocky Ridge Road have experienced an upward trend. However, earlier in the year it was areas just off the north end of Highway 31 that were experiencing problems.”

According to data from the Vestavia Hills Police Department, residential burglaries in April, May and June increased by 10 incidents compared to the same period in 2012. During the past 90 days, four arrests have been made in connection to those incidents, which resulted in 11 cases being closed.

In 2012, VHPD responded to 105 residential burglaries, and 66 of these were reported solved. Within the first four months of 2013, the community was on track to exceed that number. At April’s end, VHPD had responded to 37 residential burglaries, arrested 10 in connection with the incidents and considered 23 of the cases closed.

In addition, from January through June 2013, the department had already responded to 88 reports of theft from vehicles. As of July 19, 10 arrests had been made in those cases, and 50 were considered closed.

Rary said the most common items stolen are jewelry, laptops, iPads, desktop PCs, TVs, firearms and silver. He added that only about 10 percent of stolen property is typically recovered.

While City Hall officials said they are pleased with VHPD’s work, both the Mayor and members of the City Council expressed frustration with the rise in theft activity.

“So much of this could be prevented if we would all remember to lock our doors and not make ourselves as vulnerable,” Mayor Alberto “Butch” Zaragoza said.

Councilman George Pierce said though Vestavia Hills is one of the safest cities in which to live, episodes of burglary are unavoidable and residents should be on alert. Personally, he said June was the first time in his 27 years in Vestavia Hills he’s seen police covering his street as he tried to start his day.

“Look, it’s alarming to walk out your front door in the morning and find police cars on your street,” he said. “When you walk out and they have a bloodhound in your neighborhood, it’s alarming. And as a grandfather of five under 5 years old, almost any given night my wife and I have at least two grandchildren at our house. We all need to be smart.”

VHPD is encouraging neighborhood vigilance and supporting that with departmental resources. Rary said he routinely assigns officers to work overtime in areas with defined trends, suspects or modus operandi, but he advised residents to start neighborhood watch groups should one not already exist.

“We encourage citizens to be crime conscious but not afraid,” Rary said. “Criminals do not deserve that.”

As an additional measure of protection, VHPD invited residents to inform the department of when they are leaving so police can increase patrols around empty homes.

 “I recently had a Vestavia Hills police officer instruct me to contact the dispatch office if my family and I are going out of town,” Pierce said. “By calling them, giving them your address and letting them know what kinds of cars, if any, should be in your driveway, the police can become an extra set of eyes while you are away.”

Rary noted that residents should always be on guard.

“Crime can occur anywhere at any time,” said Rary. “Because Vestavia Hills is such a safe place, people sometimes forget that. Vestavia Hills is now the third largest city in Jefferson County with over 35,000 residents, not counting the people that travel through the city daily. People need to be aware of their surroundings and observant of people around them.”