If police were looking for a way to dramatize the recent uptake in property crimes which has the citizenry on edge and local law enforcement deploying countermeasures – they got it Wednesday night.
Lafayette’s public safety committee had convened a meeting of concerned citizens and their chief for 7 p.m. Wednesday and, presumably, things were well underway when a suspected car burglar struck near Whole Foods and local officers mobilized to catch the offender.
Residents reported Lafayette and Orinda police pursuing a white Mercedes – possibly with paper license plates – past the Veterans Memorial Building where tonight’s meeting was being held and out onto Highway 24, where it was last seen heading through the Caldecott.
We believe the suspect’s car either crashed or was stopped at an address in Oakland.
“….and back thru the tunnel they went” We sure hear that slot lately.
Im glad they don’t live locally!
Has Lamorinda PD looked into how to turn lights off in the tunnels? I heard that once the lights are out, the tunnels magically close off. Then its easy pickings for the PD to walk up and ask the nice criminals to put on bracelets and take a ride to Martinez.
A somewhat more tactful approach than those great big clangy iron doors others have suggested we try.
No surprises here. I know I sound like a broken record but… CA voters need to realize that policies like Prop 47, Prop 57, AB 109 etc (i.e. those that reduced certain felonies to misdemeanors and let criminals out of jail early) have FAILED to make us safer.
As we saw with the Orinda gang shooting, most if not all of those guys had prior convictions and some were on active parole/probation. Same story with many of the car burglars, home invaders, laptop snatchers, etc.
We need our criminal justice system to be an effective deterrent to committing crime and to quarantine these career criminal types away from civilized society. To do that, we need to actually enforce full sentences, even if it requires building more jails.
Google “Judge Christopher Hite car burglary” … Judges in SF are letting people out of jail who have committed 11 auto burglaries. Look at the woman arrested in Alamo last week who had been arrested in WC back in May for burglary..
I totally agree. Sadly, we live in a liberal state, and liberals are more concerned with the “feelings” of criminals, criminals rights, etc. Liberals don’t understand reason, logic, statistics, facts, etc. like moderates and conservatives – especially when it comes to crime. Liberals are overly emotional, and it clouds their judgment.
Give every single one of these idiot criminals life in prison or the death penalty, and call it a day. SICK OF CRIME, AND SICK OF LIBERAL POLICIES THAT ENABLE CRIMINALS.
Quote from “Car burglaries in some California cities are at crisis levels. Prosecutors say their hands are tied” – LA Times, Dec 3 2019
“[State Senator Scott] Wiener said he was never given an explanation by colleagues who decided to hold the bills in committee, but he said lawmakers have generally been reluctant to approve any measure that has the potential to put more people behind bars. The solidly liberal California Legislature has tried to address prison overcrowding in the last decade by reducing the penalties for many crimes and blocking bills that might increase the number of people going to jail or prison.”
Thanks, but no thanks. If people want to have a constructive discussion around criminal justice policies then that’s fair. The constant declaration that more prison and even the death penalty for property crimes is the solution is patently ridiculous. There are plenty of places that enforce more prison for such things and their crime rates are no better.
Prison is not the only tool that the criminal justice system has. You don’t have to always bring a gun to a fist fight.
Agreed. Killing people to stop people from killing people doesn’t make much sense to me.
Ok, well I think it is the sentiment you express here that led California voters to enact Prop 47, which directly correlates with the rise in property crimes over the last 5 years. Clearly, reducing criminal penalties for property crimes (all carrot and no stick) hasn’t been working.
I care more about law abiding citizens’ property and safety than I do about the comfort of criminals.
Did he get away?