Hollister police investigate rash of car burglaries

A rash of car burglaries in Hollister has police and residents on high alert. Over the last several days, officers say certain neighborhoods have been targeted by thieves.

The McDaniels know this first hand.

“I got my backpack stolen by a thief,” said the McDaniel’s 9 year-old son.

Kristyn McDaniel was getting ready to leave for work when she noticed something wasn’t right.

“My sons school homework and his binder and his pencil box was neatly stacked in front of the garage door soaking wet from the rain,” said McDaniel.

Sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, thieves rummaged through the McDaniel’s car. They took only her son’s favorite backpack.

“It could have been a lot worse than it was; it is just a backpack. But it’s is kind of a violation,” said McDaniel.

The McDaniels are not alone. They live in Southeast Hollister where police said the majority of the vehicle burglaries and thefts are occurring.

In the last two months police said there have been 25 car burglaries or thefts. During the same time last year there were only 15. 2013 had a total of 44 andright now the city is on track to break that record.

“Obviously you want to remove anything that’s valuable from your vehicles until these people are caught,” said Police Chief David Westrick.

In the meantime, the department is stepping up patrols and can only speculateas to the cause ofthe spike in car break-ins.

“There could be a combo of it being spring break, it could be a combo of it warming up a little bit. We do see a rise of crime usually in the spring time when it warms up,” said Westrick.

For now, the McDaniel’s said they’re keeping a close eye on the neighborhood.

The Hollister Police Department is asking that residents report any suspicious behavior.