Car thieves target vehicles in Brighton

BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Rochester suburbs are becoming a target for car thieves, many looking for Kias and Hyundais. On Friday, two cars were stolen from parking lots less than a mile apart, and thieves tried to steal a third.

Thousands of cars have been stolen in the City of Rochester — a huge jump over last year. In Brighton, this year nearly 100 cars have been stolen. In a typical year it’s just 20.

“That’s definitely a little scary to think about. All this happening so close by for sure,” said Jessica Hagan, a resident of the Rustic Village Apartment complex in Henrietta. Residents, including Hagan, were recently sent an email by property management urging them to be extra cautious after cars were broken into at the complex.

“I have seen cop cars in my parking lot in the past few days. I’ve seen one each day there. So, I know it’s something that’s happening more frequently around here now,” said Hagan.

Friday morning, less than a mile away, Brighton police were also called after a car was stolen right out of the parking lot at Corporate Woods in Brighton. Captain Jose Caraballo says the thieves are following an all too familiar pattern when stealing cars.

“There was a vehicle that was left running with the windows smashed out and some glass on the ground, and when they got there the car was unoccupied and another vehicle had been taken,” said Caraballo.

At the same time this morning, another car was stolen from a business parking lot on Townline Circle, off Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road.

“They’re hitting office parks. They’re hitting apartment complexes. It’s, you know, our common areas, but they’re also going into the side streets of the towns,” said Caraballo.

He goes on to say the suburbs are just as vulnerable as the city.

“This is a countywide issue. We’re not any different from any other township, or anyone else with this problem going on. We certainly have an increase in stolen vehicles this past year, and hopefully we can get ahold of this thing,” said Caraballo.

Brighton Police say most of the thieves they’ve arrested have been teens, some of whom are habitual offenders in other communities.