May 15, 2007

NEWS: Car-Hopper Charged

Douglas Simmonds, aged twenty-six, was nabbed in the New Brighton area of Staten Island, New York last week with fifteen credit cards. Of course, you have probably gathered that they were not his. Police made a similar leap of logic, and pegged Simmonds as a ‘car-hopper,’ a new breed of thief that has been plaguing residential neighborhood recently as the trend grows. Simmonds is but the latest opportunistic youth to be busted in the pursuit of treasure from unlocked cars, discovered by literally going door-to-door down residential streets and checking out all open vehicles.

Simmonds was red-handed, holding the stack of cards in his hand, when police busted him. He initially tried to tell police that he had found the cards in a dropped purse, and had picked them up with the intent to keep them safe until he could return them, but authorities were not fooled. Police discovered that he had gone on a spree that evening, picking up a knapsack, a wrist watch, sunglasses, markers, a utility knife and other miscellaneous articles from four parked vehicles on the street he had just crossed. Simmonds later told cops that he checks car doors to see if they are unlocked, then burgles the ones that are open.

Car-hopping has become an issue of no small nuisance on the South Shore, where bands of teens and young adults have taken to filching cash, cell phones, GPS devices and anything else inside they can loot from open cars. Simmonds will likely pay dearly for his theft binge, having been charged with fifteen felony counts of fourth-degree stolen property possession and eight misdemeanor counts each of fifth-degree stolen property possession and petit larceny. He had previously served a month in lockup for an unrelated theft charge. He is being held without bail, and is expected back in court next week.


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