Smash & Grab in Fishers

[NumberCruncher]

I was at the Lifetime Fitness at 116th and 37 in Fishers over lunch and someone broke into my car. Smashed the side window. But I can't tell that anything was stolen (thank goodness).

I'm wondering if my NRA sticker on the back window was a motivator. There was a black bag in the back that is empty that they may have seen. ?? The stupid part is I had left my wallet in the side panel of the drivers side door and they must not have seen it.

Either way, the NRA sticker is coming off. I only put it on about 3 months ago, and I've never had my car targeted before.

I just hope the jackass is pissed that he got nothing for his trouble.

I guess he did steal the $290 it will cost me to get the window replaced.

 

[Jarhead77]

Sorry to hear that this happened. Do they have any cameras in the parking lot that may have captured this happening?

 

[metaldog]

Wow, sorry to hear of it, NC. Glad all seems fine (other than the window). FWIW: I do not put stickers on my car for this reason (TARGET). I do have a K-LOVE sticker. Wife has a Pro "spay/neuter" sticker in regard to pets. Other than those...Nada!

 

[NumberCruncher]

By the way the guys at Lifetime were great!!! He pretty much cleaned out all the glass for me and brought out a trashbag and tape to at least cover the empty window. They handled it perfectly.

The video cameras were not working, but the Fishers PD that was there said they usually don't help much anyway. It was on the away side of my gray minivan, which you probably can't see through on the camera. Most it would have shown was the car that rolled up. The LEO said these almost never get solved. Then he added, "I wish I could catch one of these guys in the act. I could guarantee there wouldn't be a trial."

All in all, I'm exceptionally grateful that the impact is pretty minimal. However, it's another reminder for ever vigilant situational awareness.

 

[lonehoosier]

It was not the NRA sticker it was the black bag

 

[abnk]

It was not the NRA sticker it was the black bag

Yep. I'd keep the NRA sticker. Can't say for sure, but it may have gotten me out of speeding tickets more than once.

 

[bruno1371]

I don't have any "firearm" stickers on any of my vehicles for the same reason I choose to carry concealed. No need to advertise, I prefer to do the surprising.

 

[PGRChaplain]

I'm with Bruno^^^

 

[.458socomhunter]

Either could have been the motivator. I keep my work truck full of garbage. It would be like a twisted Easter egg hunt.

 

[No2rdame]

This is a very common occurrence in that part of Fishers and particularly at Lifetime. I used to be a regular there and they had a couple who hit that parking lot over and over and over. Fishers finally caught them, but I'm sure by now they're back on the streets considering the fact that judges often like to go lenient on criminals these days. It may be the same couple for all we know coming back to their favorite place to steal. One reason Lifetime's parking lot was such a popular spot for them is because so many of the soccer mommies like to go in there to run on the treadmill and leave their purses and iphones sitting right there in plain view.

 

[BE Mike]

Should have had an Obama sticker on the car instead!

 

[Yup!]

This happened to me before - they took $1 and some change from the cup holder. I had no stickers... Just a quick buck.

 

[billybob44]

We can agree to disagree....

It was not the NRA sticker it was the black bag

IMO, The NRA sticker brought the thief to the vehicle. The Black bag made for a glass break, to see what was in it..GUN?? Computer?? Hi-Dollar anything??..

Either way, the NRA sticker brought the thief for a closer look, and IN FACT caused the break-in..Again JUST IMO...Bill.

 

[CharlesGoodnight]

Doesn't surprise me. That is a great location for would-be thiefs. Easy access to the highway for a getaway. Lifetime is set back a bit on an access road. I doubt the NRA sticker was a motivator, but you never know.

 

[Miles42]

How about the fitness center put a guard in the parking lot? If this a common occurrence I would think a guard would be good business practice.

 

[El-Cigarro]

I have an F. O. P. Sticker on the rear window of my Truck. Wonder if that will keep the thieves AWAY?????

 

[nebulous]

I agree - remove the sticker. Criminals can get a lot of money off of stolen guns.

 

[SkullDaddy.45]

I have a NRA sticker and a 2nd Amendment sticker on my jeep. I've never had any problems. I have a gym bag in the back seat, which now I might put in the trunk. Sad to hear about this crap happening!

 

[vitamink]

Thieves target certain areas based on certain pay outs.

Thieves target sports venues as they know cars will be left unattended for the duration of the event. They also know that women tend to leave their purses behind and for some reason, both men and women, leave laptop computers.

Thieves target gyms as they know that men will likely leave their wallets behind (just like you did) and women will leave their purses. I used to work at that lifetime fitness and we'd have at least 10 break ins a week. Every time someone would come yelling call the police, my wallet/computer was stolen. In my experience, ever car gets looked at. The fact that you have an NRA sticker, a bag in the back, and are parked at a gym, can be target multipliers. Thieves know that people are lazy and leave all their important stuff in their cars instead of locking them in the lockers. The mere fact that you're parked at a gym means that there is a good chance that you left your wallet in the car. The sticker means there is a good chance that there is a gun under the seat and if not, at least his wallet will be in the car. The plain view black bag means that even if i don't get a gun or the wallet at least i'll get whatever is in the bag (computer?). Plain view items get cars broken into first everything else is just icing on the cake.

This'll be the 3rd time i've posted this but i think it's appropriate…

A really close friend of mine took a run of a domestic at the Fort Benjamin Harrison YMCA. The husband was in the lobby freaking out at his wife and people were sure he was going to kill her. The cops get there and the guy is going nuts in the lobby calling her all kinds of horrible names. They separate the 2 and one cop goes off with the angry guy. Angry guy is still pissed and leads the cop outside pointing to a car with a broken window. The angry guy explains in a rather loud manner that this is his car, his wife drove it to the ymca, left her purse on the front seat, and now the window is broken and her purse is gone. The whole time he is referring to his wife as anything but "wife". The cop says, "calm down man, it's just stuff, yeah that wasn't the brightest move, but that's your wife and people make mistakes." The man replied, "you don't get it, that's MY car!" then continues on about how stupid his wife is. The cop replies a little angrier now, "no, you don't get it! You're married, you're in this together, your car is her car and vice versa." The man says, "She has her own car! She drove mine today because hers was in the shop getting a window replaced from where she drove to the YMCA and left her purse on the seat last week!!!" Cop: "...........oh damnnnn."

Brief synopsis:
The week before she left her purse on the front seat of her car at the YMCA. Purse gets stolen. While car is being fixed she drives husbands car to the YMCA and leaves purse on front seat….purse gets stolen.

Another story that explains thief mindset

i mentioned in a story before that police received a run to a parking lot for a guy breaking into cars. When they arrived the caught a man shattering out a window, holding a purse. As they had the man in handcuffs, officers went through the lot looking for other victim vehicles. They found that 2 out of 50 were broken into, and 20 others had purses and/or laptop computers in plain view in the vehicle. So more than 2 out of every 5 people in this parking lot were thief goldmines. THey asked the man why he broke into the vehicle and he replied, "I just made 700$ in 5 minutes from 2 cars...what would you do?"

 

[sun]

One of my sons left his car unlocked overnight with some golf clubs and new tatoo equipment with many bottles of tatoo ink stored in the back.
He noticed everything was stolen when he left early in the morning for work, but didn't call the cops to report it until he came home later in the day. The cop who came and took the report said to call him back if he locates any of the items in local pawn shops etc...
Later that same evening, the tatoo equipment and ink was posted for sale on Craig's List with a phone number to a local cell phone business. When the cop was called back he said that he knew the place because there have been reports of cock fighting going on there, but that there was nothing that he could do about it except to pass the info. on to the detectives, and a search warrant could take weeks or months.
Meanwhile my other son called the phone number to try to arrange to buy the tatoo equipment from the seller on Craig's List. The next day, a price was negotiated for the tatoo equipment by people using different phone numbers, and my two sons were told to drive to a Latino business district in the capitol city about 10 miles away if they wanted to buy the equipment back. One son was armed, and when they drove up they were being watched by the locals from an apartment window upstairs.
A young Latino male was sent outside to meet them with the goods which my son paid for, but not before the accomplice unsuccessfully tried to raise the price at the last minute.
All of the tatoo equipment and inks were returned in their original condition when the transaction was complete. The cop was notified that the equipment was recovered, except for the golf clubs. And the son learned the lesson to not leave expensive items in his unlocked car.
Another lesson learned is that the cops won't do much at all even if you locate your own stolen stuff for sale on Craig's List the same day that it was stolen.
If it ended up being found in a pawn shop then the cops could have helped.
Otherwise, if you want stolen items back badly enough then you're on your own. Either get it back yourself [without using violence] like my sons did or just let it go and accept the loss.