The Crime: Burglary of a motor vehicle
The Victim: Don Corben-Smith
Location: 5700 block of Moss Creek Trail
Date: Saturday, May 31
Time: 3:30 a.m.
A bump in the night awoke Don Corben-Smith’s neighbor from his slumber.
But when that neighbor peered out his window to survey the scene, he didn’t see anything suspicious, so he returned to bed.
When Corben-Smith’s wife went outside to get the mail that morning, however, she came back inside a little startled.
“She said to me ‘Oh my god, your car has been vandalized,’” Corben-Smith says. “They broke out my driver side window and took my Blackberry phone.”
After calling police to file a report about the car burglary, Corben-Smith called his neighborhood crime watch patrol to alert them as well. To make sure the burglars couldn’t pawn his phone, Corben-Smith also asked his cell phone provider for a “poison pill,” which makes a cell phone inoperable.
Corben-Smith, director of development at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, says on most nights, he parks his Chrysler inside his garage. This night was an exception; he parked it outdoors.
Thankfully, Corben-Smith didn’t have his garage door opener inside the car that night, otherwise he suspects that more of his belongings might have been stolen.
He also says that he has always considered his neighborhood to be safe. In fact, he says that he has never been a victim of burglary before, and to his knowledge, burglaries have never been a big problem in the neighborhood. There was, however, another neighbor a couple of blocks away who had his 21-speed mountain bike stolen the same night that Corben-Smith’s car was broken into, but he isn’t sure if the two incidents are related.
Corben-Smith says he suspects the car break in was a random act performed by “kids on a lark,” but says he’ll be more vigilant about parking his car in the garage from now on.
Dallas Police Lt. Barry Payne, who has 35 years of experience with the department, says that’s a good idea because most burglaries — including car burglaries — are crimes of opportunity.
“The best way to prevent a car break-in is to park in the garage,” Payne says. “Any time you leave a car in the driveway, it will always be at risk.
“Don’t leave anything inside the car that can be stolen. Some people use a towel to cover up briefcases, but when a criminal sees a towel, they know it maybe covering up something valuable. So the best advice is not to ever leave anything in the car that is visible.”
