Mount Washington residents frustrated with recent uptick in vehicle break-ins
Across the country and right here across the Pittsburgh region, there are reports of car break-ins happening every day.
People living on Mount Washington told KDKA-TV that criminals are going street to street, breaking into vehicles, whether locked or unlocked, and stealing items inside, and they said the problem is ongoing.
Surveillance video captured multiple people opening Paul Martinez's car and searching inside early Friday morning around 4 a.m. on William Street.
"The whole car was ransacked," Martinez said. "There's about three individuals that walk down the street and just hit every car on the street."
Martinez didn't realize what had happened until his neighbor called to check his cameras. Both their cars had been hit, and it wasn't the first time.
"They pretty much walk around almost every single night with impunity. It doesn't matter if the lights come on," Martinez said.
He can't keep count anymore. He believes criminals have broken into his vehicles about five or six times in the last six years. They've stolen an iPad and money from him, and he said the majority of the time, the cars were locked.
His wife even confronted a suspect one time.
"What did you just steal out of my car? " she asked in a July 2020 surveillance video. The suspect responded, "I thought it was my car."
At this point, Martinez said he no longer files police reports, and neither does Geno Direnna on Wills Street.
"Irritating, you know, hate to go through it," Direnna said.
He said he's fallen victim possibly 10 times in recent years, the latest about a week ago.
"I think they took a bottle of cologne," Direnna said.
Pittsburgh police told KDKA-TV that they have reports of at least five vehicle break-ins so far in February, most with unlocked doors. They urge people to make sure they're secured.
Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, who serves the neighborhood, also told KDKA-TV that she "[realizes] that residents are frustrated and not calling [police] because they feel as if no one will respond, which is why some residents want to take matters into their own hands. We need better options for residents."
For Martinez, he believes it comes down to reforming the justice system, learning from friends in law enforcement that many of these criminals are released the same day they're processed.
"I think we've all had enough. The whole neighborhood has had enough, and we're done with it," Martinez said.
Kail-Smith, with the commander for the area, will host a community meeting to discuss the recent crime at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Mount Washington Healthy Living Center.
