Cars burglarized in church parking lot

(Oct. 2012 Story)

Imagine coming out of church only to find your car has been burglarized. That’s what happened to two worshipers right in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church on Murchinson.

During last Sunday’s morning service an unknown person drove to the church and broke into two cars, stealing items from inside.The only problem, the suspect’s vehicle was caught on tape.

Church pastor Neal Lock is working with El Paso police to catch the criminal, and police tell ABC-7 they expect successful results.

Officer Darrel Petry says car burglaries have decreased throughout the city by 16%, with the steepest declines in Mission Valley at 33%, and the Central District, which is where First Presbyterian is located.He says most car burglaries occur during the night, but during the holiday season, criminals can be a little bit bolder.

“When we come to the holiday season we have an increase in traffic at the malls and at shopping centers and strip malls because we see that people shop during the day and of course they keep a lot of valuables in their car and therefore will see an increase in the daytime hours,” Petry said.

(Oct. 2012 Story)