According to Greenwich Police, so far in 2022 113 cars have been stolen in Greenwich.
Greenwich Police are investigating an incident on Nov 15 involving a stolen car with a child inside. The BMW was at McDonald’s at Exit 5 in Riverside when car thieves took the opportunity to drive off in it.
Police Chief Heavey, speaking on WGCH 1490 explained that the theft took place when an individual went inside the restaurant to get some food and left their child in the car.
“Someone had entered their car to steal their car. Fortunately, the child made his presence known and they let him out on the Post Road, and then they took the car and fled to New Jersey,” Heavey said, adding that the that the child was not harmed.
The chief said it was the third time this year that a car with a child inside was stolen. In all three cases the children were dropped off unharmed.
“It could have been a worse disaster with having the small child in the car when it was stolen,” Heavey said, adding that residents are not heeding police department’s requests to lock their cars.
“Earlier in the day we had observed a car that had been stolen in another jurisdiction. We used our license plate readers to identify that and made an effort to stop that car without a result. But, that meant the car was in the area looking for other cars to steal. If they had just locked their car, we’d have 113 less stolen cars and bringing less of a criminal element into town.”
“These are not neighbors stealing cars. These people coming from outside of Greenwich and stealing high end vehicles – Land Rovers, Audi’s.”
The car has not been recovered.
Especially during this holiday season, Heavey urged people to lock vehicles an not leave items within view.