Thieves target unlocked vehicles in Fort Worth neighborhood

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police are looking for a group of coordinated car thieves who targeted several unlocked vehicles in one neighborhood.

Surveillance video from one of the residents in the neighborhood shows the group in a truck. As it drives by, thieves get out and check for unlocked cars. One of the vehicles they attempted to target was a marked Fort Worth police car.

Police say when burglars are brazen enough to try and break into a police car, it steps up their urgency to catch them. In this case, there's video that shows the burglars are organized and fast.

Dana Duncan, like several of her neighbors, came out Tuesday morning to find her car doors open and things missing. And the thieves who did it were caught on surveillance video by her neighbor.

"And all the stuff that I have in here was on the floor in the back because they had thrown it behind the seats,” she said. “So it's just CDs that they didn't take, but they did take the GPS."

The video shows a pickup truck driving slowly in The Villas at Fossil Creek in north Fort Worth. Three burglars fanned out quickly to check for unlocked doors.

“I was very angry,” Duncan said. “This morning, I was still angry wondering would they come back? Would they search other people's cars?"

At one point, the thieves can be seen riding on the hood of the car. Fort Worth police say they get as much as they can as quickly as they can and then move on. One of the bold crooks even tried to break into a patrol car.

“Keep in mind, this fully marked black and white Fort Worth police car,” said Fort Worth Officer Daniel Segura. And you can see clearly that one of the suspects is trying to open the door."

Kelli Velasquez says the bad guys overlooked a $20 bill sitting in plain sight but still stole a Rangers jersey from her truck. Her cameras also showed the burglars.

"I had a portable Bluetooth speaker sitting right in the truck,” she said. “I mean, they didn't even have to go in my truck to get it. They just skipped right over it."

In all, police say 14 cars were hit in the two communities near North Riverside and Basswood. Police say they're experienced and will likely try it again. So the message from police and the victims is to always lock your doors.

"Mine was on accident,” Duncan said. “And now as we check the front door and the back door to make sure it's locked every night before we go to bed, we will also check the outside car door to make sure it's locked."

One of the suspects has a bushy, Mohawk-style haircut. The truck has trim along the bottom and a section of trim on the driver door is missing. The wheels of the truck are blacked out.

Anyone with information on the suspects is urged to contact the Fort Worth Police Department.