The holidays are here, and in the third year of the Great Recession an ugly trend has emerged in Rio Linda.
Crime, and plenty of it.
Over the past four weeks, there’s been a car stolen from the parking lot at Westside Elementary, a car broken into and belongings stolen from Orchard Elementary, and just this past week someone kicked in the door at Rio Java and pilfered the skateboards from the wall.
There’s been other crimes of course… the 7-11 was robbed, the church at the site of the old Par Market was burgled, and at least three families have had their bags of recycling aluminum stolen!
The most inspiring of these events comes from Rhena Bowler, whose mother’s car was broken into at Orchard Elementary on Q street.
The thieves swiped a purse from the car, and just 1 1/2 hours later were charging purchases to the credit cards. Not willing to sit still and take it, Rhena jumped into action. She started tracking the purchases online… Shell, Sports Authority, Target. As soon as she saw a purchase entered, she called the store in order to retrieve security video.
The first location was the Sports Authority in Natomas. Smartly, the manager denied the thief’s purchase. The incident was caught on video. The next purchase was at Target. Again, it was caught on video. The manager at Target made a disk with screen grabs immediately. Now Rhena had a description: Female, black hair with purple highlights. It’s all in the hands of the Twin Rivers police and The Sacramento County Sheriff now, but certainly their jobs have been made easier by Rhena’s quick thinking and fast action.
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The recycling thefts were brought to my attention by Shelly Goyet. The Goyet family and 2 others I know of have allegedly been the victims of a local transient named Mike Lorenzo. He’s allegedly entered the property and taken their bags of aluminum cans. Shelly smartly obtained a picture of him. He rides around town on a BMX bike.Apparently, even the local homeless community doesn’t care for him… he likes to beat up on them. Swell guy.
He’s been advised that it’s probably best if he moves on. There’s plenty of people that aren’t happy with his actions, obviously.
(Remember, vigilante justice is dangerous, and not real smart. It would be wise to steer clear of this fellow and inform the authorities if you know of his illegal activities.)
In this era of 12.4% unemployment a crime wave is not shocking… in fact, it should probably be expected. During the holiday season we all let our guard down a little. Lets let this be a little reminder to remain vigilant, and take precautionary measures when it’s warranted. Be careful, and assure yourself of a happy holiday season.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
