Most
campus cars stolen from Lot 14
By Will Shaw
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Honda Accords and Jeep Wranglers top the list of stolen cars, while 14 cars overall
have been stolen off school property since the beginning of 2006.
Most of the thefts have occurred during regular school hours and the cars stolen
were parked in Lot 14, according to Lt. Fernando Solorzano of University Police.
The cars are normally stolen then stripped with the parts sold on the black market,
he said.
“ In our past here with the authority department, after identifying suspects,
almost all of them have been non-students,” Solorzano said. “They
have usually been groups of people who engage in this type of criminal activity.”
Students may not be stealing the cars, but they have to deal with their cars
being stolen.
Mike Junipero, a junior engineering major, had his Honda Civic stolen last year
from Lot 14 while living at Parkside Commons.
“ I had to go to the market to get some necessities,” Junipero said. “I
knew exactly where I had parked because I had just parked their 45 minutes earlier.
There was another car parked when I had parked, and I thought I was going crazy.
It took literally 10 minutes for me to realize what had happened.”
Junipero said there were no witnesses of the theft, or at least nobody who spoke
up.
“ It happened in broad daylight, I don’t understand how nobody saw
it happen,” he said.
Junipero said his Civic was probably targeted because it was “highly modified.”
According to Solorzano most stolen vehicles have been recovered and could be
described as “minor stripped” meaning most of the time the stolen
cars are still salvageable.
The cars are normally found missing parts and deserted in Compton or Los Angeles.
“ When a vehicle is stolen from our university, we enter the plate in a
database of stolen vehicles,” Solorzano said. “When an officer sees
the car and runs the license plate, they can see that it was stolen from [Cal
State Long Beach] and notifies us. We then know the vehicle has been recovered.”
Junipero’s car was found in downtown Los Angeles completely stripped.
“ The engine was gone, the wheels were gone, the entire interior was gone,” he
said. “All that was left was the empty body on some old steel wheels with
no tires.”
The car was determined a total loss by his insurance company and none of his
parts have been found.
“ All of my expensive aftermarket parts were gone and probably sold off,
and the insurance didn’t pay me back for those,” Junipero said.
Ian Douglass, a sophomore industrial design major, owns a Volkswagen Jetta and
relies on the factory anti-theft features to keep his car from being stolen.
He parked on campus last year, but now walks to school from his apartment.
“ When I lived on campus, I thought about my car getting stolen all the
time,” he said. “Several cars were stolen that year and I was really
paranoid about mine being stolen too. Thankfully I own a Volkswagen, and they
are not stolen as often as many of the Japanese cars.”
Solorzano said there are ways students can protect themselves and their cars
from theft.
“ We would ask if they have anti-theft devices such as a club, to use them,” Solorzano
said. “If the stereo system has anti-theft features, like detachable faces,
take them with you. Don’t put them in the trunk or under the seat.”
Douglass said he feels his factory anti-theft features and stock looking car
are enough to deter criminals.
Solorzano says the biggest key to keeping a car from being stolen is to not keep
personal property inside the vehicle, like laptops, skateboards purses or articles
of clothing.
If a student witnesses a car being stolen, or his or her car has been stolen,
he or she should contact the University Police immediately by dialing 9-1-1 from
any on campus phone line. They can also reach from any phone by dialing (562)
985-8538.
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