NEWBURY PARK : Window-Prying Burglar Sought

A burglar who pries open the back windows of parked vehicles apparently has struck twice in the same Newbury Park neighborhood, a sheriff’s detective said Monday.

Sometime between Saturday night and sunrise Sunday, someone stole stereo equipment, a television set and tools from three vehicles at Mirabella Apartments in the 1800 block of West Hillcrest Drive, Detective Tom Bennett said.

In one of three break-ins, the burglar apparently slipped in through the rear window of a Toyota pickup by removing the weather stripping along its top and sides. He then used the still-secured bottom of the window as a hinge, pulling the glass down toward the truck bed, Bennett said.

In another case, the thief pried open a small wing window to gain access to 1971 Dodge van. The third vehicle, a 1986 Cadillac, showed no signs of forced entry, Bennett said.

On Oct. 7, deputies took reports of five other vehicle burglaries that occurred the previous night at the nearby Las Casitas condominiums.

Bennett said two of the thefts that night involved pickup trucks, one with its rear window removed and another with its window lowered in the same manner as at the Mirabella Apartments. One truck was missing only a box of 72 candy bars, he said.