1 car stolen, 2 broken into

Mikeala Foehr / Asst. News Editor / The USD Vista

Within two days, three crimes in three different residence areas were committed on campus. On Oct. 22, two cars, one parked in the University Terrace Apartments (UTAs) and one in the Alcalá Vistas Apartments, were broken into at separate times during the same night. Two days later, a car was stolen from Manchester Village. None of the cars showed any signs of forced entry. 

The USD Department of Public Safety (DPS), by working with the Pacific Ridge apartment complex across the street, was able to get a video of the car being broken into at the UTAs. The video showed a possible suspect who was walking through the lot with an unidentified key fob in hand, appearing to click it repeatedly at various cars. Then the video shows lights illuminating on one car, after which the possible suspect approaches that car, and removes unidentified items from within it. Later that night, a car of the same make, but different model, was broken into in the Alcalá Vistas parking lot, again showing no signs of forced entry.

USD Public Safety Chief James Miyashiro found these similarities suspicious. 

“We can’t prove that it was the same person, or that the same thing happened, but it was very interesting that these incidents happened in the same night,” Miyashiro said. “They happened to two very similar cars, and we have a suspect on video with a suspicious type of key fob that we know worked on one of the cars.”

The Alcalá Vistas break in was not captured on video because the victim’s car was parked away from posted cameras. However, according to Chief Miyashiro, the victim was positive that they had locked their car the night before. 

The car theft occurred some time during the night of Oct. 23, after the car was parked at 10:30 p.m. in Manchester Village. According to Chief Miyashiro, the stolen car was a newer model, which means that it couldn’t have been manually started without a programmed key. Earlier in the day on Oct. 23, the victim had gotten into a minor car accident and ended up losing one of their two keys to the car. 

“It is unknown if someone possibly picked up the key and followed them to where they parked their car, because there were no signs of forced entry, or attempts to manually start the car,” said Miyashiro.

The victim’s car was found by the San Diego Police Department on Oct. 25 in Downtown San Diego and returned to the victim. 

These incidents raise questions about security on campus, but Chief Miyashiro does not believe these occurrences are cause for concern.

“It is not unusual to have car break ins on campus because this just like any open area with lots of cars” said Miyashiro. “Our crime rate is actually pretty low because we have lots of well-lit areas, and people constantly walking around, especially since students are always out and about no matter what time it is.” 

Students can find these crime rates in the 2019 USD Annual Fire and Safety Report published online every year. During the 2018 calendar year there was only one car theft, down from 10 during 2017. There is not an explicit crime section for vehicle break ins, but in all there were 8 burglaries. This statistic would also include residence hall and any other reported, non-violent, theft.  

However, not all students share Miyashiro’s confidence. Riley Kawananakoa, a sophomore student living in the UTAs, believes that the security guards could be doing a better job. His car was recently broken into off campus.

“Speaking as someone who recently had their car broken into, it sucks” said Kawananakoa. “Also, there is supposed to be a security guard at the UTAs, but whenever I see him he is just sitting in his car and looking at his phone. So I think that could be better.”

Daniel Sarrao’s confidence in Public Safety has also been shaken by these events. Sarrao is a Junior resident in Manchester who is now much more worried about the safety of his car. 

“It makes me very nervous because I park my car in the same area of the one that was stolen,” Sarrao said. “It’s not a good feeling.”

Sophomore Alcalá Vistas resident Jackie Brown hopes that Public Safety will do more to reduce crimes like these, but also recognizes the shortcomings of students in these situations. 

“No one should be breaking into cars, but also people shouldn’t leave anything that they’re worried about being stolen in their car and always make sure to lock it,” said Brown. 

Chief Miyashiro notes the importance of each person doing their best to prevent crimes like these. The best preventative measures, according to Miyashiro, are to keep valuable objects out of plain sight and to park in well-lit areas whenever possible. He also said that by next month, all of the parking areas on campus will be equipped with security cameras, in an attempt to deter crimes from occurring. 

Crimes or suspicious persons on campus can be reported to USD Department of Public Safety at (619) 260-7777 for non-emergencies, or (619) 260-2222 for emergencies.