Car theft, robberies stir in Oakland

After waking up Tuesday morning, Pitt student Toni Eckstein was surprised to find that her… After waking up Tuesday morning, Pitt student Toni Eckstein was surprised to find that her car was no longer where she had left it.

Her 1990 Dodge Spirit, which she parked in front of her apartment building on Ophelia Street, was stolen sometime between late Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

?All this time, I?ve been worried about the home invasions, and they took my car,? said Eckstein, a senior social work student. ?That was kind of a slap in the face.?

But Eckstein is only one of a number of recent theft victims.

A car jacking occurred on Monday night around seven. A man took the car from the emergency parking driveway at UPMC Presbyterian. At the time, the victim?s granddaughter and grandson were in the backseat of the car.

After driving the car a block away to a secluded area near Children?s hospital, the man stole a coat and two purses from the car. He then ran down Fifth Avenue.

A suspect has been identified through UPMC?s surveillance cameras, but has not been apprehended yet.

Also, an armed robbery was committed at Hieber?s Drug Store at 3500 Fifth Ave. at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The suspect, who police said might be responsible for four other Oakland store robberies, was described as being a black male between 35 and 40 years old, with curly black and gray hair. He is about 5?8?, light-skinned, and has a pockmarked face. He typically wears bright-colored shirts, carries a plastic shopping bag and displays a long-barreled black gun. He has not been apprehended.

Thefts have also been occurring on a smaller scale on Pitt?s campus.

?The majority of our problem is theft,? Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney said.

To keep their belongings from being stolen, students need to be more aware of what they do with their possessions, he said.Students tend to be forgetful and leave valuables in classrooms and the library, he said, and are then surprised to later find them gone.

Stolen books are a common problem, because students know the value of textbooks and how to sell them , Delaney said.

?Theft is an opportunity crime,? he said. Don?t give criminals an opportunity to steal, he added.Students can protect their belongings by leaving valuables at home or locking them in the trunks of their cars, instead of leaving them in plain sight, Delaney said.

But Eckstein, who had her car stolen, said she did not think there was anything she could have done to prevent the theft. She had locked her car, and the police officer told her the suspect probably snapped the door handle off to break into her car, she explained.

Eckstein does not know when or if she will be getting her car back, but she did have insurance on it.

?I?m working on getting a rental right now,? she said.