Paterson family appalled after man climbs into yard, steals teenager's mountain bike
PATERSON, N.J. -- A Paterson teenager is devastated after working to save money for a bike only to have it stolen.
Fifteen-year-old Vitzie Salce spent the last two years designing and selling arts and crafts. Bags go for $10, keychains for $4.
The money saved went towards buying a used mountain bike to ride to the park with her family.
"I've been selling to neighbors and friends at school and wherever at my father's baseball field," Vitzie told CBS2's Christina Fan.
Vitzie is on the autism spectrum, but her mother, Raquel Amador, says the high schooler is more than aware she has to work hard for the things she wants, which is why the family was appalled when a man hopped the fence into their yard Aug. 2 and stole the $150 bike.
"He came, he took the bike, he threw it over the fence and escaped," Amador said.
Residents say they saw the thief casing the neighborhood that night, trying to open car doors. When someone chased him off, he climbed into the Amadors' yard.
"That was their place to be. And now the fact that anybody could just come in, even though we have the front gated and our back gated... Who is going to really stop now, if they can come in and take what they want and go?" Amador said.
Since the burglary, the family installed a wooden pallet on top of their fence and no longer lets the kids play alone outside.
"I felt scared. Both scared and both sad," Vitzie said.
"We don't want to live in a neighborhood or an area or anywhere in the world where you are being disrespected, where what you work for is taken from you," Amador said.
A simple concept she says her 15-year-old daughter understands but not the adults in her community.
Amador says because the theft was for such a small amount, she didn't file a police report, but already there have been two offers from her family and the community to replace her daughter's bike.