Homeowners at Heritage Place Condominiums are starting a reward fund, with an initial amount of $1,000, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of thieves who stole items and vandalized vehicles parked in the building’s garage.
According to another downtown resident, it’s not the only garage targeted. Michael Piper said the passenger window of his Subaru Outback was smashed in last week at the Vancouvercenter garage. He pays $100 a month to park there.
“I just got it back from the shop,” Piper said, lamenting that he was paying for premium downtown parking to avoid problems like theft and vandalism.
Heritage Place said in a release that Vancouver police and the property’s management company, Invest West, determined that a gray or silver four-door Honda entered the garage about 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Three men and a woman in the Honda drove into the gated garage at 400 West Eighth St. and started breaking into several cars. They were likely able to get into the garage because an entry device had been previously stolen, said Ann Donnelly, president of the condominium owners board.
“Using flashlights and glass punches to reduce noise, they targeted vehicles without alarms with valuables inside. They spent approximately 35 minutes inside the garage, ultimately breaking into seven vehicles and stealing one,” the release says.
A private security company patrols the area, so it’s likely the group were familiar with the guards’ routine, according to the homeowners.
Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said in an email that the report taken for the Heritage break-ins says several vehicles were targeted, and the officer who wrote the report noted other victims would probably need to be contacted.
Kapp did not address additional questions about thefts and damage to vehicles at other locations in downtown Vancouver.
At the Vancouvercenter garage, numerous vehicles had passenger windows broken out, or the thieves simply opened unlocked vehicles, Piper said.
Not only did his window need repair, the middle console in the Subaru was ripped open and damaged, and his seats were torn. With insurance, it cost $250 to fix, he said.
