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Volume 38 Issue 9
February 13, 2001

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Gone in 60 seconds
MCC parking lots plagued by suspected car theft ring

BY TAMMY JARVIS
MESA LEGEND
Submitted February 13, 2001

Eight vehicles have been stolen from MCC’s main campus student parking lots since the beginning of this semester, and five vehicles have been broken into, according to Vince Moran, chief of college safety.

Three males in a dark Chevrolet Baretta-type vehicle, who were witnessed in the southwest parking lot by a college safety officer, are currently the only suspects.

According to Moran, MCC reported eight stolen vehicles throughout all of 2000. "This is very out of the ordinary," he added.

Reports from college safety indicate the thefts and break-ins have occurred mainly in the east and south parking lots between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m on weekdays.

Moran believes the string of larceny is the work of one group of individuals who are primarily looking for pickup trucks, as seven of the stolen vehicles are Chevy pickups and the eighth is a GMC truck.

The burglarized vehicles, however, have been various makes and models.

"These people are professionals. It’s not just ‘smash and grab,’" Moran said, adding that the crimes take less than 60 seconds to commit.

Items that have been reported burglarized include stereos, CDs and other personal items, according to Moran.

Jordan Currier/MESA LEGEND

Public safety officer Paul Springhall demonstrates the use of The Club, a device MCC College Safety Chief Vince Moran endorses as a deterrent to the recent car thefts and break-ins on campus. Since Jan. 22, MCC College Safety and Mesa Police have reported eight stolen vehicles and five vehicle break-ins.

The suspects are using "some method of prying open the door on the driver’s side," Moran said.

"They come down here together in one vehicle, then one of them gets out, breaks into another vehicle, drives away in it and the others follow," he said.

Moran attributed a recent staffing shortage in college safety as a reason the suspects have not been captured, but added his department is working closely with Mesa Police to get the situation under control.

Until then, Moran suggested that students make sure their car doors are locked and no valuable items are visible from the outside of their vehicle.

He also proposed that students use the anti-theft device The Club, which locks up the steering wheel and inhibits the burglar’s ability to quickly get away, and would possibly prohibit them from approaching the vehicle at all.

According to Moran, none of the eight stolen trucks had The Club on them.

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