Residents of Chicago neighborhood say thieves are breaking into cars night after night
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Surveillance video shows a team of thieves with several getaway cars – all trying to break into parked cars in the Southwest Side's West Lawn neighborhood.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported Thursday night, the neighbors say the same thieves just keep coming back over and over again, night after night.
"They're hitting everybody like back to back to back," said Adriana Alejandro-Martinez.
Alejandro-Martinez's issue is with thieves lurking in the night. But the thieves are doing more than just looking around – surveillance video shows them breaking into cars around West Lawn Park – from Kildare Avenue west to Cicero Avenue.
Video taken Tuesday night shows the thieves in action on Kolin Avenue.
On Wednesday night, it is believed the same crew returned. Surveillance video shows them pulling up in one vehicle – and someone breaks into a truck, then drives off.
"They're working in groups. There's three cars - one in the front, middle, and the back," Alejandro-Martinez said. "But some are armed. they've already shot at a couple actual neighbors that tried to, you know, to stop them."
That leaves neighbors worried the thefts will only get worse, because the crooks know cameras are recording.
"They're brazen. They don't really care, you know?" Alejandro-Martinez said, "and I honestly think they get a thrill out of it."
But there is nothing fun about coming out to broken windows, a stolen car, or a $700 bill for a stolen catalytic converter.
"It's not fair for the people who work very hard, like Adriana, say," said neighbor Leila Lituma. "You work, you work very hard to get what you want, and then they just come in and take it away like that."
And while police are aware of the thefts and looking into whether the same crew is connected to the crimes, those in West Lawn are not just standing by and waiting.
"We're always observing things," said Eddie Guillen.
Guillen and the West Lawn Neighborhood Association heard about the uptick – and volunteers will beef up patrols.
"The majority of the time, we're out Friday and Saturday - which is the peak times that a lot of things are happening," Guillen said.
But now, the volunteers in safety vests will start coming out on weeknights. They won't confront – but only report suspicious things to police.
"That's all we're doing is observing and reporting it," Guillen said, "and hopefully, we'll be deterrent to the community."
Safety is key for the volunteers, who patrol in groups.
Neighbors say they have spotted the same car on many home surveillance videos in recent weeks. They say the crooks know they are being recorded, and it is doing little to stop them.